On Feb. 16, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he thinks the rule that doesn’t allow Kyrie Irving to play in home games because he’s not vaccinated is unfair because visiting players who are are not vaccinated can play.
“First of all, I think the rule is unfair,” Adams told the New York Post. “I believe that we are saying to out-of-town athletes that they can come in and not be vaccinated. Yet New York athletes have to be vaccinated and they also do this for entertainers. I want people to know that. Entertainers can come here without being vaccinated and perform. I think it’s unfair.”
The NBA doesn’t require players to be vaccinated, and since December, Irving has been allowed to play away games for the Brooklyn Nets.
“I am really, really leery about sending the wrong message,” Adams said. “Having the city close down again keeps me up at night. And the message was put in place, the rule was put in place. To start changing it now I think would send mixed messages. So I’m struggling with this.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver appeared on the ESPN show “Get Up” on Feb. 16 and gave his thoughts about the vaccine mandate in New York.
“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,” Silver said. “To me, that’s a reason they should take a look at that ordinance.”
With Adams and Silver both questioning the mandate, there could be a chance that some rules could change and Irving might eventually be able to play in home games.
