With the Nets star Kyrie Irving potentially set to lose more than $380,000 for missing a preseason game Friday night, the N.B.A. players’ association pushed back on the league’s plan to dock the pay of unvaccinated players for any games they miss this season because of local coronavirus ordinances.
Irving, a union vice president, has not spoken publicly about his vaccination status, instead asking for privacy. New York requires most teens and adults to have at least one vaccination shot to enter facilities such as sports arenas, and Irving has not practiced with the Nets in Brooklyn. The team listed him as “ineligible to play” in its injury report before Friday’s preseason home opener against the Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center.
For Irving, the $380,000 represents about 1 percent of his base pay for the 2021-22 season. A disagreement between the league and the players’ union over lost pay hinges on a section of the collective bargaining agreement that allows the league to discipline players who, “without proper and reasonable cause or excuse,” fail to fulfill their contractual obligations.
Mike Bass, a league spokesman, said last week that “any player who elects not to comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for games that he misses.”
The union has rejected instituting a leaguewide vaccine mandate.
Irving’s indefinite absence from home games — and from practices — has created a predicament for the Nets, a team with championship aspirations that must weigh whether having him around only half the time is worth it. His teammates have said they support him.
Steve Nash, the Nets’ coach, said the team would not move its practices to a location outside of New York to accommodate Irving. The Nets, who have not said publicly whether Irving is vaccinated, held their training camp in San Diego.
“No, this is our home,” Nash said. “This is where we’re going to practice, and we have almost a whole group. So that’s a positive, and we’re just working at getting better every day and focusing on the things we can control.”
Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks play, require all employees and guests 12 and older to show proof of having received at least one vaccine dose, to comply with a city mandate, unless they have a religious or medical exemption. San Francisco has a similar requirement that applies to Chase Center, where the Golden State Warriors play. The mandates in both cities mean that the players from the Knicks, Nets and Golden State cannot play in their teams’ 41 home games without being vaccinated.
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October 09, 2021 at 04:05AM
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Nets' Star Kyrie Irving Could Lose $380,000 Over Vaccine Status - The New York Times
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