With lockdowns, closings, various mandates to wear masks and get shots, it’s safe to say the world is still a very strange and crazy place. That strangeness has carried over to the professional sports world, including the NBA.
While the Association itself hasn’t come out and ordered players to get their shots, but they have set up some pretty strict guidelines for players, staff and even arena employees.
On the other hand, some cities and other local governments have their own rules in place about who needs to be vaccinated in order to attend gatherings like sporting events (and restaurants), just to name a couple.
That’s led to a strange situation for the Brooklyn Nets. The local area has rules requiring anyone attending an event – a Nets game, for example – to have had their shots. The situation is this: star player Kyrie Irving has openly refused to get the shot, and because of that, he has not been allowed to play Nets home games.
That’s led to some harsh words from former NBA superstar and current analyst Shaquille O’Neal, who’s become one of Irving’s biggest critics. Irving made the no-vax announcement at the start of this season, and he’s held to his position ever since.
Now, several months into the season, it seems Irving has become a part-time member of the team. Originally, the Nets said they would want him to be a regular contributor for road games, but even that idea hasn’t exactly panned out. Seems Irving has lost his starter role, even for those not-in-Brooklyn games.
On a recent episode of his how podcast, “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” O’Neal said it’s time for the Nets to trade Irving. He called the decision to get the vaccine “making a sacrifice for the team’s sake.” Now Shaq says the Nets must part ways with Irving if he doesn’t sacrifice.
Shaq: “It’s all about sacrifice. How can you have a championship team when one of your main guys don’t want to sacrifice?”
Even without Kyrie, the Nets have been doing well. As fo this writing, they’re currently in first place in the Eastern Conference, a game and a half ahead of the Chicago Bulls. Leadership and scoring was coming mainly from Kevin Durant. Unfortunately, KD entered the league’s health and safety protocols last week, and he may be unavailable for a few days.
Still, Irving is expected to get more minutes as the season goes on. That’s good news for James Harden, who has had a tough time figuring out his exact role with Kyrie inactive. Nets fans are hoping things can get a little more back to normal.