NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants some more clarity on New York City’s vaccine mandate because it’s really not making sense to him.
Kyrie Irving, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, cannot play at Nets home games due to the mandate. However, it has always been the case that a player from a different city who has the same unvaccinated status is allowed to play at Barclays Center.
“This law in New York, the oddity of it to me is that it only applies to home players,” Silver explained on ESPN’s Get Up. “I think if ultimately that rule is about protecting people who are in the arena, it just doesn’t quite make sense to me that an away player who is unvaccinated can play in Barclays but the home player can’t. To me, that’s a reason they should take a look at that ordinance.”
The mandate has been in place for quite some time, yet Irving’s stance on not getting the vaccine hasn’t changed. Initially, Brooklyn didn’t want him being a part-time player because they didn’t view it as fair to the team or Irving. But, due to injuries and positive COVID-19 cases arising throughout the season, they amended that thought and allowed him to come back on a part-time basis to play away games.
Silver, whose stance that people should be vaccinated and boosted, thinks that with a new mayor in New York City — Eric Adams — there is a chance that mandate could be changed. There has been no news that Adams would indeed do such a thing.
“I can imagine a scenario where Brooklyn, as part of New York City, with a new mayor now who wasn’t in place, Eric Adams, when that original ordinance was put into place, I could see him deciding to change along the way and say it’s no longer necessary to have a mandatory vaccination requirement, as I said, particularly one that only affects home players,” Silver stated.
Obviously, the Nets would love to have Irving on a full-time basis, especially after their blockbuster trade landed Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond. When Kevin Durant is back healthy, the Nets could shoot up the standings, and Irving playing at home instead of sitting out would help that cause.