Kyrie Irving believes he stands for freedom.
After his long awaited first home game at Barclays Center — where he was previously restricted from playing due to New York City’s private sector vaccine mandate — Irving said his decision not to get vaccinated was to make sure he stands on what he believes in.
“Freedom,” the star guard said after the Nets lost to the Hornets on Sunday. “I don’t think that’s a word that gets defined enough in our society, about the freedom to make choices with your life without someone telling you what the f--- to do and whether that carries over to nuances of our society that politicians control, the government controls, or things people who are in power — the powers that may be, right? — control.
“I’m standing for freedom, so that’s in all facets of my life. There’s nobody that’s enslaving me. I don’t want anyone telling me what to do with my life, and that’s just the way I am, and if I get tarnished in terms of my image and people slandering my name continually because those aren’t things that I forget.”
Irving never wavered in his stance to get vaccinated against COVID-19 this season. He became the NBA’s only part-time player, available exclusively in road games and not at home due to the City’s vaccine mandate. The Nets initially ruled Irving ineligible to play on the road or practice at home at the beginning of the season, but then reversed course on that decision in mid-December.
“I made it very clear it was never just about me,” Irving said Sunday after his first game at Barclays Center this season. “I think for my own legacy, that’s to be written by all those that I impact, and all those that impact me, and it’s far bigger than just a basketball game, but when I’m in this locker room, I get a chance to perform with a bunch of guys that are selfless and are sacrificing just as much as I am. It makes it worthwhile, and that’s the only thing I’m really focused on is the now, and getting back and ready for the next game and just going from there.
“But the point of this season for me was never to just take a stance. It was really to make sure that I’m standing on what I believe in, in freedom.”
Irving made his season debut on Jan. 5 in Indiana against the Pacers and has played 22 games so far this season.
He only recently became eligible to play in home games at Barclays Center — after an assist from both the Yankees and Mets, both whom the mayor said he spoke to, but denied being lobbied by, before making his decision to lift the mandate for professional athletes.
“I must move this city forward,” the mayor said on March 24.” Today, the decision we’re making — we’re not making it loosely or haphazardly. We’re not doing it because there are pressures to do it. We’re doing it because the city has to function.”
He also said the mandate as first implemented was unfair to the Big Apple’s professional athletes since visiting teams and players were exempted from the vaccine rule. The mayor has since received much criticism for making an exception for athletes when the mandate forced the firing of over 1,400 municipal workers in the City.
As of Monday, the City recorded over 2.3 million COVID-19 cases and over 40,000 deaths due to the virus since its first case was detected in Feb. 2020.
