NYC Mayor-Elect Says City Won't Change Vaccine Mandate, Closing Door on Unvaxxed Irving

New York City mayor-elect Eric Adams announced on CNN Friday night that he will not change the city's vaccine requirements, effectively closing the door on any chance for unvaccinated Kyrie Irving to play for the Nets this season. 

As a result of a New York City mandate, which requires proof of vaccination to enter indoor arenas, Irving is currently ineligible to play in Brooklyn home games in 2021–22. However, New York officials deemed the HSS Training Center in Brooklyn a "private facility." Despite this move, Nets general manager Sean Marks said on Oct. 14 that the team will not allow Irving to play or practice "until he is eligible to be a full participant."

Brooklyn owner Joe Tsai previously said he hopes Irving "gets vaccinated as soon as possible," and held firm that the star needs to be vaccinated to play for the franchise as long as New York City has a mandate.

"I don't know," Tsai previously told ESPN when asked when he thinks Irving will play again. "Either he has to be vaccinated in order to come back if the New York mandate is still in place. And don't ask me when they may or may not change the New York mandate. Again, if you ask the people that are making decisions at the city level, they are going to say we are going to rely on science, rely on what the health department tells us [in order to proceed]."

Tsai said it was a team decision for Irving not to play until he complies with New York's COVID-19 mandate.

"Obviously Kyrie has his own belief so I respect that. But we have to make a team decision. This is not a decision about him," Tsai said, who owns the team with his wife, Clara Wu Tsai. "This is a decision about where we go as a team. And it is just not tenable for us to have a team with a player that comes in and out, no home games, only away games. What do you do in practice then?"

After the news broke that he was ineligible, Irving explained on Instagram live that he would continue to maintain his fitness until he regained eligibility.

“Nobody is gonna hijack my voice. Nobody is gonna take the power away from me that I have for speaking on these things," Irving said. "Don’t believe that I’m retiring. Don’t believe that I’m gonna give up this game for a vaccine mandate or staying unvaccinated. Don’t believe any of that s---, man. Be aware of what’s being said before I even get a chance to be on the podium and speak for myself.”