New York City mayor-elect Eric Adams confirmed on Friday that the city’s current COVID-19 vaccination mandate will remain in place during his leadership. As a result, Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving will remain unable to play games at the Barclays Center given his current vaccination status.
The current vaccination mandate stipulates that athletes are required to undergo at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine in order to be eligible to participate at an indoor sports facility within New York City. In addition to home games for the Nets, Irving is ineligible to play at the Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks.
Following this update, Adams implored Irving and the NBA to come to an understanding on how to move forward. “New York City is not going to change their rule. And again, it is up to the NBA and Kyrie to come to a full understanding on how to keep him on the Nets and to continue to look at all of our athletes that are coming here.”
While the league has not established a vaccine mandate of its own, the NBA is complying with the local vaccine mandate of New York City during games that are played in the area.
