New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Monday he can’t make an exception allowing unvaccinated Nets guard Kyrie Irving to play in Brooklyn.
Adams, who said he has spoken with Nets owner Joseph Tsai about the situation, told CNBC it “would send the wrong message” to the rest of the city.
“Listen, I want Kyrie on the court. I would do anything to get that ring. So badly, I want it. But there’s so much at stake here. And I spoke with the owner of the team. We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court, but this is a bigger issue,” Adams said. “I can’t have my city closed down again. It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we’re telling countless number of New York City employees ‘If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to be employed.'”
Irving has been limited to playing in road games this season, barred from playing at Barclays Center because of the city’s vaccination requirements for “indoor, dining, fitness and entertainment venues.”
Adams has said previously that the city is looking at March 7 as the date to alter its vaccination requirements if COVID-19 numbers continue to decline. However, there is still a private sector mandate that has been in effect since Dec. 27 that states that “all employees at private sector businesses must have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.”
“Businesses have their vaccine mandates. City employees have their vaccine mandates. I have to follow the rules. And trust me, I want Kyrie on the court,” Adams told CNBC. “We are here right now opening our city because of vaccine mandates. We can’t close down again. I can’t have my city close down again.”
Irving, a seven-time All-Star, has played in 15 road games this season, averaging 25.1 points and 5.3 assists.
The Nets have 21 games left this season, 12 of them at Barclays Center. They have lost 13 of their last 16 games.
At 32-29, they are eighth in the Eastern Conference, meaning they would have to take part in play-in games to earn a spot in the postseason. They entered Monday three games behind the sixth-place Boston Celtics, who hold the last qualifying spot that wouldn’t require a play-in.
–Field Level Media