Nets ban Kyrie Irving from team until he’s vaccinated

October 12th, 2021

Awake Goy

The All-Star point guard has refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and the Nets announced Tuesday that he won’t be part of the team until he does. In essence, get vaxxed or get gone.

“Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant,” Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said in a statement Tuesday morning.

“Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability.”

Irving’s refusal to adhere to recent New York City vaccine mandates meant he wouldn’t be able to play home games at Barclays Center, or even at the cross-river rival Knicks. A recent development had allowed him to at least practice at home when the city ruled HSS Training Center a private office instead of a gym, but simply playing road games wasn’t enough.