Kyrie Irving To Be Cleared To Play In Brooklyn After NYC Mayor Lifts Vaccine Mandate

Source: Justin Ford / Getty

After missing most of the season due to his reluctance to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Kyrie Irving will finally be able to play in home games for the Brooklyn Nets as New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to lift the vaccine mandate for performers and athletes in the work place.

CBS Sports is reporting that the newly minted Mayor of the Big Apple is expected to make the announcement today (March 24) on “his decision to reverse the private-sector vaccine mandate specifically for performers and athletes in local venues, including Barclays Center — home to the Brooklyn Nets — and both Citi Field in Queens and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.”

Right in time for the playoffs too. Coincidence? We’ll never know but we’re not mad at the decision. At least Brooklyn Nets fans aren’t.

Since the beginning of the season Kyrie Irving refused to get vaccinated for personal reasons and was basically banned from playing for the team even in arenas where the vaccine wasn’t mandated. Once the Brooklyn Nets began to struggle and lose games on a nightly basis, the team brass had a change of heart and allowed Kyrie to play in away games while staying home whenever the team would play in Brooklyn. Interestingly enough unvaccinated players from other teams were able to play at the Barclay’s Center, but Kyrie couldn’t.

The frustration around Kyrie playing strictly in away games is said to have been the driving factor behind James Harden demanding a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers as he felt the Nets weren’t good enough to win a chip with a part-time Kyrie.

While many assumed Eric Adams would eventually take this step to allow Kyrie to play in home games, for weeks he denied he was even thinking about making the move but wouldn’t rule it out. Now that the NBA playoffs are about to get underway, it seems like the Brooklyn Nets will once again be a threat for that chip should Ben Simmons ever get himself off that bench and get his mind, body and soul back on the basketball court.

With Kyrie, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons possibly on a collision course against Joel Embiid and James Harden’s Philadelphia Sixers in the playoffs, this year’s post-season is set to be all kinds of lit. Just saying. You know James Harden lowkey salty right now…

Kyrie Irving To Be Cleared To Play In Brooklyn After NYC Mayor Lifts Vaccine Mandate  was originally published on hiphopwired.com