No home games for Irving even if rules ease

NEW YORK • Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets' star guard, will still be ineligible to play home games at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn even if New York City lifts its vaccine mandate for restaurants, gyms and most indoor spaces.

Mayor Eric Adams said on Sunday he intended to do that by next Monday if Covid-19 cases remain low.

But Irving, who is unvaccinated, will still be subject to a separate vaccine mandate for the private sector.

Fabien Levy, a press secretary for Adams, confirmed as much on Sunday, writing on Twitter, "Fastest way for all New Yorkers to get back to normal life is for us ALL to get vaccinated."

It is unclear if the private-sector mandate will be lifted, although Adams has suggested in recent weeks that many vaccine requirements will be removed. The city's press office did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Nets.

"Within the next few weeks, you're going to see many of these mandates dissipate," Adams said last week.

Last month, he had called the rule that bars Irving from playing in home games "unfair", given that unvaccinated athletes from opposing teams can play at both the Barclays Centre and Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Knicks.

Irving has played only 15 of the Nets' 61 games, partly because of his refusal to be vaccinated, and was out for yesterday's home game against the Toronto Raptors.

The 29-year-old's inconsistent availability and injuries to other players have contributed to the Nets' struggles (32-29). They are eighth in the Eastern Conference with about a quarter of the season left. To avoid the league's play-in tournament for the post-season, they would need to finish in the top six.

Irving said after the Nets' victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday that he is just remaining patient to see "where things end up in this next week or so or next two weeks".

NYTIMES