Multiple reports indicated that Kyrie Irving would not be in New York for the Nets Media Day on Monday due to the city's health and safety protocols, and the star point guard was indeed fielding questions from a different location.
Of course, many questions centered around Irving's vaccination status against COVID-19, which could affect his ability to play this season, as New York City's mandates include players being vaccinated to play in indoor arenas.
But Irving declined to go into detail about his vaccination status as reports swirl that he is among a small group of NBA players not willing to take the shot.
"Honestly, I like to keep that stuff private," Irving said. "I'm a human being first. Living in the public sphere, there's a lot of questions about what's going on in the world of Kyrie, and I think I'd like to keep that stuff private and handle it the right way with my team and go forward together with a plan.
"Obviously I'm not able to be present there today, but that doesn't mean I'm putting any limits on the future of me being able to join the team, and I just want to keep it that way. So we can keep that private. If anybody has any further questions about that, please, it will be the same response. I would like to keep that private, and just please respect that."
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An unvaccinated player would not be able to take the court in New York City arenas, meaning Irving wouldn't be able to play in any Brooklyn home game or any game against the Knicks, unless the league granted him a health or religious exemption. Los Angeles is another city with a similar mandate, meaning Nets games against the Clippers and Lakers would leave Irving ineligible.
When asked if Irving's home game this season would be in jeopardy, he again declined to comment.
"Again, I would like to keep all that private," Irving said. "Please, just respect my privacy. All the questions kind of leading into what's happening, just please, everything will be released at a new date once we get this cleared up. As of right now, just respect my privacy, regarding anything about home games, what's happening, vaccinations, please."
Irving's teammates, in Brooklyn for Media Day, had to field questions about his vaccination status as well, but Kevin Durant expressed hope that the Nets would have Irving, and the entire championship-hopeful team, together this season.
"I expect it not to be an issue," Durant said. "We trust in Kyrie and I expect us to have our whole team at some point."
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