Eric Adams says Kyrie Irving needs to be vaccinated to play in home games

New York City mayor Eric Adams said of Brooklyn Nets superstar point guard Kyrie Irving really wants to play in the home games of his team he needs to be get vaccinated first.

Guesting before CNBC on Monday, Adams said as much as he wants to see Irving play on the court he also needs to implement the vaccine mandate to all and not exempt someone due to his superstar status.

“We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court again, but this is a big issue: I can’t have my city close down again,” Adams said.

“It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we’re telling the countless number of NYC employees that if you don’t follow the rules you won’t be able to be employed. That’s not the right thing to do,” Adams added.

Sources said being a Muslim, Irving could have asked for an exemption from the vaccine mandate due to his religious belief but the NBA superstar did not choose to do it.

Earlier, the Nets have decided to ban Irving from joining the team for refusing to get vaccinated.

Nets general manager Sean Marks said Irving can only rejoin the team once gets vaccinated against the COVID-19.

“Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant,” Marks said.

“Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability,” Marks added.

Marks said although they respect Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated they hope he will change his stance because they want him to be part of the team this NBA season.

“It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice,” Marks said.

“Our championship goals for the season have not changed, and to achieve these goals each member of our organization must pull in the same direction. We are excited for the start of the season and look forward to a successful campaign that will make the borough of Brooklyn proud,” Marks added.