DETROIT – Mayor-elect Eric Adams said Friday night that New York City will not change its COVID-19 vaccination mandate that currently prevents Kyrie Irving from playing there.
Adams, who won the city’s mayoral election Tuesday, put the onus on the NBA and Irving to find a solution. The current mandate requires the Brooklyn Nets point guard to receive at least one shot in order to play at home at the Barclays Center and away from home at Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks.
“New York City is not going to change its rule,” Adams said in an interview on CNN. “And again, it’s up to the NBA and Kyrie to come to a full understanding on how to keep him in the Nets and continue to watch all of our athletes who come here. Again, I think the NBA and Kyrie are going to come to a conclusion about this “.
Adams did not elaborate on how the NBA and Irving can find a way for the point guard to play in New York City if he remains unvaccinated as the League complies with the city’s COVID-19 protocol.
The Nets played their ninth game of the season without Irving on Friday in Detroit. While he can play away games in NBA cities that do not have a vaccination mandate, the Nets decided as an organization not to have their starting point guard with the team as a part-time player until the vaccination or mandate changes. from the city.
Nets owner Joe Tsai recently told ESPN that he is unsure when Irving will rejoin the team due to the tenure.
“I don’t know,” Tsai said in an interview with ESPN when asked when he thinks Irving will play again. “Or you have to be vaccinated to go back if the New York mandate is still in effect. And don’t ask me when they can or can’t change the New York mandate. Again, if you ask the people who are making decisions at the level of the city, they are going to say that we are going to trust science, to trust what the health department tells us [para continuar] “.
“I hope Kyrie can be part of the team, part of Brooklyn in the long term … I think we have an immediate question of whether he can play this season, and I hope he gets vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Adams, who will take office Jan. 1, was asked about protocols for municipal workers while on CNBC on Wednesday and said the city needs to “review how we are going to address vaccine mandates.” That comment generated some optimism that perhaps the term could change after Jan. 1, allowing Irving to play even if he remains unvaccinated.
Nets coach Steve Nash was asked if the team would welcome Irving if he changes the term and he is not yet vaccinated.
“He could be speaking out of turn,” Nash said Wednesday. “But I think that if the mandate changes, it will surely be welcome.”
Adams said it’s “up to Kyrie” to determine if she should get vaccinated.
“That is his determination,” Adams said. “I don’t want to dictate for him, it’s his body, he has to make that determination about what he wants to do.
“I’m a Nets fan … and I love Kyrie. I think he’s a piece that we need for a championship … So I think it’s up to the NBA and Kyrie to come to an understanding on how they want to get through this and I think they can come to a resolution. “
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