‘I’ve Made My Decision And I’m Standing By It’

Kevin Durant is out for 4-6 with a left MCL sprain and the Brooklyn Nets are mired in a losing patch, but none of that will persuade Kyrie Irving to get vaccinated against Covid-19 so he can play in home games.

“I’ve made my decision and I’m standing by it…I stay rooted in what I believe in,” Irving said after going for 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the Nets’ 114-107 loss at Cleveland on Sunday.

Pressed by Nick Friedell of ESPN and Brian Lewis of the New York Post on if the Durant injury and the team’s struggles will impact his decision, Irving emphatically said that his decision not to get vaccinated is not linked to basketball or the team’s success.

“Kev’s gonna heal, Kev’s gonna be OK,” Irving said. “And we’re going to have to deal with that as his teammates, but in terms of where I am with my life outside of this, I stay rooted in my decision and that’s just what it is.

“It’s not going to be swayed just by one thing in this NBA life that somehow it’s brought to my attention as being more important than what’s going on in the real world. It’s just not happening for me. Again I respect everyone else’s decision, I’m not gonna ever try to convince anyone or anything like that, I’m just staying rooted in what I believe in and though we’re dealing with this right with Kev, I just know that I’m protected by the organization, I’m protected by my teammates, I’m protected all the doctors I’ve talked to, and I’m just staying rooted.”

The Nets initially banned Irving from all games until he either got vaccinated or New York City vaccine mandates change. But they reversed course last month and allowed him to play in road games.

The Nets are 2-2 in games in which Irving has played this season, and Monday was the first of four straight road games for which he is eligible. Overall, though, Brooklyn (27-16) has lost seven of 11 games since a 23-9 start but are only a 1/2 game behind the first-place Chicago Bulls.

Told by Friedell that “millions of basketball fans” want to know when he might be vaccinated, Irving said “it feels a little disrespectful” that he keeps being asked the same question. He reiterated that he’s taking a stand with other unvaccinated people “getting fired on a day-to-day basis.”

“That’s what I’m saying, you’re bringing my vaccination status into a basketball game, like I live my life a majority of the time away from this,” Irving said.”So when I say I’m not getting vaccinated and I’m making a choice with my life, somehow it gets mixed into, ‘Well, what about basketball?’ It’s like, no bro, we live in the real world. This is great to be able to do this, I’m grateful for the opportunity, I love being with my teammates, I love playing on the Nets but I’ve already been away enough time to think about this, to process it this decision, staying strong.

“I understand that some people are going to agree and some people are going to disagree. The circumstances that are at hand, I’m praying that they get changed and we’re able to do things differently and that’s not just for me. That’s for all those that are dealing with being unvaccinated, getting fired on a day-to-day basis. It’s not just about me. That’s been my message this whole entire time. So though I feel your feeling and emotion asking that question, sometimes it feels a little disrespectful, like I’m not just a basketball player, bro. It’s not just about the game.”

Told that he was “one of the most famous unvaccinated people in the world,” Irving said “fame is socially created.”

Irving was born in Australia, which just deported another famous athlete, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, ahead of the Australian Open because he, too, refused to get vaccinated.

Irving was not asked his thoughts on Djokovic or Australia’s decision, but it’s clear he believes in individual choice on the matter. And nothing is going to change that.