Relaxed vaccine rules could allow Kyrie to play home games

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Relaxed vaccine rules in New York could allow Kyrie Irving to play Nets home games soon

By Adam Stites | Last updated 2/23/22

Kyrie Irving hasn't played a home game for the Brooklyn Nets since the 2021 postseason, but New York City may soon lift the vaccine mandate that has kept the point guard limited to road games.

On Wednesday, New York City mayor Eric Adams was asked if the city envisioned phasing out the vaccine passport program required for most indoor activities.

"Yes, I can't wait to get it done," Adams said. "I'm ready to get ahead of all of this and get back to a level of normalcy, but [health professionals] are giving us clear instructions, they're giving us benchmarks. We're going to follow those benchmarks, but I look forward in the next for weeks, going through a real transformation."

The answer from Adams comes one week after the mayor told reporters that he finds the vaccine rules that have kept Irving out of action "unfair."

Mayor Eric Adams, asked if he’d change vaccine rules for Kyrie Irving, says he thinks the rules are “unfair.”
He says “honestly I’m struggling” over what to do because it’s not fair for hometown teams to face different rules than visiting teams.
— Emma G. Fitzsimmons (@emmagf) February 16, 2022

Irving, 29, has given little explanation for his hard-line stance against the COVID-19 vaccine, only telling fans that it's "about being true to what feels good."

The Nets were 23-10 at the end of December but have slid to 31-28 and currently sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The team has been without Kevin Durant after the star suffered a knee injury in January, and Brooklyn made waves earlier in February by trading James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that included Ben Simmons.

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