Faced with the prospect of playing home games without unvaccinated guard Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets have decided to completely sideline the NBA All-Star until he receives the injection or a permanent solution can be reached.
Irving was expected to miss home games this season due to New York’s vaccine mandate. However, in addition to playing on the road, he would have been allowed to practice in Brooklyn because the team’s training center is considered a private workplace and not a public arena.
Unfortunately for Irving, the Nets are now saying that he will not be playing or practicing with the team for the foreseeable future. It remains unclear if the 29-year-old will get vaccinated, sit for the entire season, or if the team will trade him to a club that isn’t facing a mandate.
‘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,’ read the statement from general manager Sean Marks.
‘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 is not anti-vaccine, a source close to the All-Star told The Athletic, but he is against mandates and any related job losses.
‘Kyrie wants to be a voice for the voiceless,’ a source told told The Athletic.
Faced with the prospect of playing home games without unvaccinated guard Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets have decided to completely sideline the NBA All-Star until a permanent solution can be reached
Marks’s statement stressed the team’s efforts to build chemistry among Nets players.
‘It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice,’ Marks said. ‘Our championship goals for the season have not changed, and to achieve these goals each member of our organization must pull in the same direction.
‘We are excited for the start of the season and look forward to a successful campaign that will make the borough of Brooklyn proud.’
Marks told reporters on Tuesday that the decision was made by himself and team owner Joe Tsai after several meetings with Irving and his representatives.
Marks also explained to reporters that Irving will be paid for the road games he misses, so he should retain around $17 million of his $34.9 million salary this season.
The NBA and the players’ union previously agreed that players will lose 1/91.6th of their salary for every game missed without proper cause this season.
Currently Irving stands to lose $381,000 for every home game he misses this season, which could total $15.5 million if he’s held out of all 41 contests at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Los Angeles and San Francisco are the only other NBA cities with vaccine mandates. However, Canada does have rigid travel restrictions, so unvaccinated players facing the Raptors in Toronto will be quarantined in their rooms when they’re not playing or practicing.
Irving’s feelings on the ban have not been revealed, but Marks suggested to reporters that he’s unhappy about the situation.
‘Will there be pushback from Kyrie and his camp?’ Marks said at a news conference. ‘I’m sure that this is not a decision that they like. … But again, this is a choice that Kyrie had, and he was well aware of that.’
Sean Marks told reporters Tuesday that Kyrie Irving will be paid for the road games he misses. Currently Irving stands to lose $381,000 for every home game he misses this season, which could total $15.5 million if he’s held out of all 41 contests.
As explained by former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks (no relation to current GM Sean Marks), the Nets were not allowed to dock Irving’s pay for road games missed because that was a team decision and not the result of a citywide mandate. The NBA and the players’ union previously agreed that players will lose 1/91.6th of their salary for every game missed without proper cause this season. Currently Irving stands to lose $381,000 for every home game he misses this season, which could total $15.5 million if he’s held out of all 41 contests
The decision was made by Nets owner Joe Tsai (left) and general manager Sean Marks (right)
The statement stressed the team’s efforts to build chemistry among Nets players
Irving had been mysteriously absent from some ticket sales promotions and team advertisements in recent weeks. He, James Harden (right) and Kevin Durant (left) were expected to form the core of an NBA-title contender this season
Irving had been mysteriously absent from some ticket sales promotions and team advertisements in recent weeks.
He, James Harden and Kevin Durant were expected to form the core of an NBA-title contender this season.
Golden State Warriors swingman Andrew Wiggins said he felt ‘forced’ to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or he would run the risk of getting pushed out of the league
NBA players are not required to be vaccinated, but the overwhelming majority are. As recently as late September, the league reported a 95 percent vaccination rate among players.
However, due to mandates in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, some players are faced with the prospect of missing games and game checks.
Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors, who play in San Francisco, reluctantly decided to get vaccinated because of the situation.
‘It feels good to play, but getting vaccinated, that’s going to be something that stays in my mind for a long time,’ Wiggins said. ‘It’s not something I wanted to do, but I was forced to.’
The 26-year-old applied for a religious exemption with the NBA but was denied, and thus risked forfeiture of nearly half his $31.5 million salary for the 2021-22 season if he didn’t receive the vaccine.
![Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that Irving has 'sacrificed more than [Colin] Kaepernick ever did](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/12/23/49085153-10084479-Donald_Trump_Jr_tweeted_that_Irving_has_sacrificed_more_than_Col-a-87_1634078352447.jpg)
Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that Irving has ‘sacrificed more than [Colin] Kaepernick ever did
Irving is getting some support from conservatives on social media.
On Tuesday, in response to the news, senator Ted Cruz suggested his hometown Houston Rockets could trade for Kyrie Irving: ‘The @HoustonRockets could use a point guard…’
Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that Irving has ‘sacrificed more than [Colin] Kaepernick ever did.’
Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback, has been out of the league since he protested racism by kneeling during the national anthem throughout the 2016 season.
As for Irving’s sponsors, his relationship with Nike was already frayed since he publicly slammed the release of the Kyrie 8s this summer.
‘I have nothing to do with the design or marketing of the upcoming #Kyrie8,’ he tweeted in July. ‘[In my opinion] these are trash!’
According to Forbes Irving also has a deal with Pepsi.
However, neither brand has commented publicly on Irving’s suspension.
Senator Ted Cruz (Texas, Republican) suggested that the Rockets could trade for Kyrie Irving
