As New York City mayor Eric Adams continues to roll back the city’s vaccination mandate, Nets point guard Kyrie Irving is inching closer to making his return to home games in Brooklyn.
Following the Nets’ 126–120 loss to the Celtics on Sunday, Irving said he is glad to have Adams “on my side” in the ongoing process.
“Shoutout Eric Adams, man,” Irving said, per ESPN. “It’s not an easy job to be the mayor of New York City. And with COVID looming, the vaccination mandates, everything going on in our world, with this war in the Ukraine, and everybody feeling it across America, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes right now trying to delegate whether or not one basketball player can come and play at home. I appreciate his comments and his stance. He knows where I stand.
“And I know one day we’ll be able to break bread together and he’ll be able to come to the games and hopefully we’ll move past this time like it never happened in our sense.
“But, it’s just the reality that it’s been difficult on a lot of us in New York City and across the world. So, I know he’s feeling it and I’m just grateful that he’s on my side, as well as the commissioner [of the NBA].”
Irving’s remarks are the first ones he’s made publicly since Adams expressed his desire to see the Nets guard on the court last week. He pointed out the hypocrisy of letting away players that are unvaccinated play in Brooklyn, but recognized that it “would send the wrong message” to make an exception for Irving to play.
“Listen, I want Kyrie on the court,” Adams said during an interview with CNBC. “I would do anything to get that ring. So badly, I want it. But there’s so much at stake here. And I spoke with the owner of the team. We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court, but this is a bigger issue.
“I can’t have my city closed down again. It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we’re telling countless number of New York City employees, ‘If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to be employed.’”
Irving has yet to play in Brooklyn this season as a result of the New York City vaccine mandate. Although it seems like he may become eligible soon, it remains unclear exactly when he will be able to play in Nets home games.
Brooklyn (32–33) is currently tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference standings with eight games remaining.
