New York’s mayor has exempted athletes and entertainers from the city’s vaccination requirement after weeks of calls from the sports world over a protocol that prevented Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving from playing the team’s home games.
The mandatory coronavirus vaccine was also affecting Mets and Yankees baseball players as the start of the season approached.
Mayor Eric Adams, speaking at a news conference at Mets Stadium, said Thursday that he had signed an order. The waiver is effective immediately.
“I am going to make tough decisions. People won’t agree with some of them,” Adams said at Citi Field. “I have to keep the city going.”
Adams said exempting athletes and entertainers is important to the city’s economic recovery. “The players bring people to the stadiums,” she noted.
The city’s vaccination requirement is maintained for individuals in other activities, including government and private sector employees.
Critics of the mayor’s decision, including public employee unions whose members were fired for refusing to receive the vaccine, lambasted Adams for favoring rich and famous athletes.
Irving, who refuses to be vaccinated, was one of the most famous people impacted by the move. He rejoined his team in January, but only to play games away from New York.
The Nets would appreciate having the player at home, just as they fight for a playoff spot with nine games to go in the regular season.
Concerns arose this month that the rule could impact Major League Baseball, as it also applied to ball parks in the Bronx and Queens.
Adams has been relaxing vaccination orders and other coronavirus restrictions. On Tuesday, she indicated that masks would be optional for children under 5 starting April 4.
The mask mandate for older children had already been removed, as was the requirement that people prove they are vaccinated to eat at a restaurant, work, go to the gym or attend an indoor performance or sporting event.
