Yesterday New York Mayor Eric Adams lifted several health restrictions and it was thought that Kyrie Irving could finally play from home. The vaccination obligation for employees of private sector companies has not been lifted, however, so Kyrie Irving’s ineligibility for home games is still relevant.
We really live in a weird time. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBA has obviously not been spared. Since the start of the season, unvaccinated players playing in New York teams like the Knicks and Nets have not been able to play in the “Big Apple” due to city-specific health restrictions. This had led several players to take the step of vaccination, but this is not the case for Kyrie Irving, who does not wish to be vaccinated for his own reasons and who therefore did not play any matches at Barclays. center this season. His completely new situation had even prompted the Nets to remove him completely from the group at first, before returning to it at the end of 2021 for away games only.
In the United States, the health situation seems to be improving, which led NYC Mayor Eric Adams to raise COVID-19 restrictions for indoor restaurants, fitness centers and entertainment venues :
“New York City’s COVID numbers continue to drop.
As long as our indicators show a low level of risk and we don’t see any surprises this week, on Monday, March 7, we will also be removing vaccination requirements for Key2NYC – i.e. restaurants, malls fitness centers and indoor entertainment venues. »
New York City’s #COVID numbers continue to go down.
So long as our indicators show a low level of risk and we see no surprises this week, on Monday, March 7 we will also remove the vaccination requirements for Key2NYC — meaning indoor dining, fitness and entertainment venues.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 27, 2022
Asked about it, Kyrie Irving then told ESPN that these developments represented for him “the light at the end of the tunnel. “There is, however, a very big problem: if the restrictions are changing for the public sector, those concerning private sector companies have not yet changed. On December 27, Eric Adams decided to make vaccination compulsory for all employees of private sector companies, “in order to stop the spread of COVID-19” still massively present at the time, with the advent of the variant Omicron in particular. Because the Brooklyn Nets franchise is a private company and Kyrie Irving is a Nets employee, in the current situation, the point guard is still ineligible to participate in his team’s home games.. From March 7, the only thing the 2016 champion will be able to do is attend matches as a spectator.
The Nets are therefore not more advanced, but the situation is not yet fixed for the rest of the season. This evolution of health restrictions is due to epidemic indicators which have shown a low level of risk. We can then consider that if the situation continues to improve by April 10 (end of the regular season), the town hall could lift the restrictions which also affect the private sector. This is a forecast to be taken with a grain of salt, but the scenario exists. All the more that Eric Adams wants Kyrie to return to the boards of Barclays Center. He also said this on CNBC this afternoon :
“Look, I want Kyrie on the court. I would do anything to have this ring. So much, I want it. But there’s so much at stake here. And I spoke with the team owner. We want to find a way to get Kyrie to play on the pitch, but that’s a bigger issue. The city cannot close again. It would send the wrong message to have a single player exception when we tell countless New York City employees, ‘If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to play. ‘to be employed’. »
Kyrie Irving and the Nets went through a huge emotional lift in the space of a few hours, and Brooklyn fans still won’t get to see one of the best dribblers in NBA history play on home soil. Be careful, however, of the evolution of the health situation in the coming weeks: a Kyrie Irving present for home games in the Playoffs, it is still possible. All that’s left to do is cross your fingers…
Text sources: ESPN, CNBC
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