Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has still not received a COVID-19 vaccine, and the team is starting to lose hope over his continued resistance to get vaccinated, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The Nets, according to Wojnarowski and Windhorst, are bracing for Irving’s absence for the foreseeable future as we approach two weeks before Brooklyn’s regular-season opener.
New York City’s COVID-19 regulations state that unvaccinated persons are not allowed to attend large gatherings, which means Irving is currently barred from participating in practices or attending home games at Barclays Center. The team moved training camp to San Diego, in part so that Irving could take part, but they are not planning to relocate for practices during the season. Irving was not with the team at their training facility in Brooklyn on Tuesday. The All-Star guard would only need one vaccination shot to be cleared to play home games.
At this point the organization has not made any decisions on whether or not they plan to accommodate Irving as a potential part-time player, according to Wojnarowski and Windhorst. With the NBA‘s current rules in place, Irving would be allowed to play when the Nets are on the road.
“No further update,” Nets coach Steve Nash told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “We support him. We are here for him. Things change. When there’s a resolution, we’re here for him.”
“I’m not really worried about anything,” Nash continued. “We’re just trying to work every day. We came in today and had a great practice and we’ll do the same tomorrow, and that’s kind of where I leave it.”
In recent days, the league and the players association came to an agreement on pay reduction for unvaccinated players who miss games due to local COVID-19 mandates. For Irving, he would lose about $380,000 per home game that he misses. So far, however, the threat of lost pay has not changed Irving’s mind.
During media day, which Irving was forced to attend remotely because of his unvaccinated status, he asked for privacy.
“I appreciate your question, bro,” Irving said. “Honestly, I like to keep that stuff private, man.” He said he would “handle it the right way with my team and go forward together with a plan. So, you know, obviously I’m not able to be present there today. But that doesn’t mean that I’m putting any limits on the future of me being able to join the team.”
The Nets begin their preseason schedule on Friday with a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. They will then open the regular season on Oct. 19, also against the Bucks in a rematch of their second-round series from last playoffs. That regular season opener will be in Milwaukee, so Irving would theoretically be allowed to play. Whether the Nets have him in the lineup, however, remains to be seen.
