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Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is making headlines again this week following his blistering attack against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the city’s ongoing vaccine mandate.
“I’m thrilled to roll up my sleeve and get boosted and encourage all eligible New Yorkers to do the same,” said Mayor Adams.
“With so many tools now more easily accessible to keep New Yorkers safe from COVID-19, the additional flexibility we are announcing for private employers, students, and parents puts the choice back into each of their hands. We urge all New Yorkers to make a plan to get vaccinated if they are eligible, and we are grateful to the millions of New Yorkers who have already stepped up to keep themselves and their community safe,” he added.
Irving was forced to sit out two-thirds of last season due to his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Following Adams’s announcement yesterday that he would end the private employer vaccine mandate but uphold the mandate for city workers, Irving called Adams out on Twitter.
“If I can work and be unvaccinated, then all of my brothers and sisters who are also unvaccinated should be able to do the same, without being discriminated against, vilified, or fired,” Irving tweeted. “This enforced Vaccine/Pandemic is one the biggest violations of HUMAN RIGHTS in history.”
Irving has thus far stuck to his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccination. In April, he again defended his stance to reporters.
“I can really say that I stood firm on what I believed in, what I wanted to do with my body,” Irving said. “I think that should be not just an American right, I think that should be a human right.”
He returned to the court in January but only for road games until the city’s government lifted its COVID-19 rules for indoor events in March.
“I’m standing with all those that believe what is right. Everybody is entitled to do what they feel is what’s best for themselves. Seeing the way this is dividing our world up, it’s sad to see. People are losing jobs to mandates,” Irving said at the time.
