Kyrie Irving has been sidelined in the Nets from all basketball-related action and the player meets with the ball on his roof. He can train at the Nets facility for the same term that he cannot play in the hall, which made the franchise move this week and flag the point guard as inactive until he is a full-fledged participant.
Kyrie Irving has chosen not to be vaccinated as a method of protection against the coronavirus and New York follows strict legislation regarding public entertainment, which includes the Knicks and Nets NBA games at home., so it is not available. He is cornered and has decided to filter to the press a position with which he wants to justify himself.
The Athletic, signed by journalist Shams Charania, puts on the table the opinion of Kyrie Irving, who maintains his thought of not getting the vaccine, even if he does not speak through his mouth. According to the information collected, the player is not against the vaccine from a scientific point of view and he is against its imposition on society. It is expressed that, for Irving, this is a fight that goes beyond the field of play and that, being “The voice of the voiceless”, can help change the social perception of this problem. According to sources close to the Nets, his refusal centers on anger over how the imposition of vaccination in some lower-paying jobs than his leads to social problems such as job loss. Understand this position as “a challenge against the control of society” by the authorities.
Irving has, in the past, been very involved in the social causes. For example, valuing the women of the WNBA or actively participating in the fight for racial inequality that exploded last year in the United States with the case of George Floyd. This time, however, your own job is at stake although he has tried to explain in detail to some of his colleagues the risky position that, supposedly, he has taken. Their contracts, not just the Nets, they are in risk in a team that also has the incentive to be in a good position to go for the title this season.
In Steve Nash’s statements this week, another strategy could be glimpsed: that of pressure on health authorities to raise their hands with the NBA, that is, with the Nets and Irving, to make it possible for the player to play games like local to the Barclays Center without being vaccinated and therefore able to live as a full-time player. The Nets have hardened their position, but this second route, that of pressure, should not be ruled out to try to get Kyrie, characterized by an enormous stubbornness in this type of extra-sports issues, to get away with it. Other players, like Andrew Wiggins, have had to go through the ring and inject themselves without believing in it as a reason to prevent the disease, but it seems, from the leaked environment, that Kyrie is looking for horizons beyond the mundane.
What Kyrie Irving did say
After what was previously expressed on public opinion, and seeing that the conviction was not enormous, the player expressed himself. Made it through Instagram in a live video in which he referred to all the controversy that, due to his decision against what is established by health, he himself has generated.
“I’m going to stay fit, ready to play, ready to be a part of all of this. This is not a political issue. This is not about the NBA or any organization, it is about my life and what I choose to do.”
“I know the financial consequences. Do you think I want to lose money, that I really want to give up my dream of chasing the title, that I really just want to quit my job? Sit at home and not go for things with my teammates , with whom I have been able to grow, learn … Do you think I want to give up my salary by mandate because I am not vaccinated? Come on … “
“It is a reality that to be in New York City, to be on a team of hers, I have to be vaccinated. I chose not to get vaccinated and that is my choice. I would ask all of you to just respect it.”
“This is my life. I can do whatever I want with my body, but you are telling me what to do with my body. Well, that has a lot to do with what is happening in this world. Right now I am inside something that is bigger than basketball. I stick with what I believe in, as simple as that. It’s not about being anti-vaccination or being on one side or the other, it’s about being really true to what makes me feel good. you are going to demonize for having more questions and taking more time to decide about my life, well … Nobody is going to silence my voice. I know the consequences of the decisions I make with my life, I am not here to sweeten them, but there are still many for taking: I’m not going to retire “
Although he reiterated that he is not going to retire, as had been raised in circles close to the Nets if he were to be traded or set aside, there is also talk of the withdrawal of the maximum renewal offer to which Irving has access soon, about 187 million per 4 years, which the franchise withdraws until this issue is clarified.