Nets’ Kyrie Irving says he gave up ‘four years, $100-something mil’ by going unvaccinated
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving’s decision to go unvaccinated likely cost him in the range of $100 million, he told reporters at Monday’s media day.
The veteran point guard was rumored to be heading towards free agency in June after struggling to finalize a long-term extension in Brooklyn following the Nets’ first-round playoff loss to the Boston Celtics. But instead of opting out of the final year an $36 million of his contract, Irving picked up his player option after finding the market for his services had deteriorated.
‘I gave up four years, $100-something mil deciding to be unvaccinated,’ he told reporters. ‘That was the decision. It was contract [and] get vaccinated or be unvaccinated and there’s a level of uncertainty of your future.’
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving’s decision to go unvaccinated likely cost him in the range of $100 million, he told reporters at Monday’s media day
The unvaccinated Irving was sidelined for much of last season due to the city’s mandate for public arenas and private workplaces, as well as the Nets’ decision to bench him for away games, citing their preference for full-time players. Team officials ultimately relented in January, allowing him to play road games, and the city followed in February by lifting the indoor mandate, allowing him to play at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
But Irving feels his decision to be a ‘voice for the voiceless’ cost him in the eyes of NBA teams, who were questioning his desire to play basketball.
‘There were options but not many because the stigma of whether or not I wanted to play or whether or not I’m committed to the team, which I thought was really unfair at times,’ Irving said.
Even Brooklyn backed off long-term extension talks with Irving amid the controversy, he said Monday.
‘We were supposed to have all that figured out before training camp last year,’ Irving said. ‘It just didn’t happen due to my status of being unvaccinated. It was a tough pill to swallow.
‘I had to deal with that real-life circumstance of losing my job for this.’
The NBA does not have a vaccine mandate, nor did it last season, but the league does defer to local health guidelines, which is why Irving was sidelined for so much of the 2021-22 campaign.
Irving wasn’t hostile with the media, Monday, but did share his grievances over the coverage of the episode.
‘I didn’t appreciate how me being unvaccinated came to be a stigma within my career that I don’t want to play, or that I’m willing to give up everything to be a voice for the voiceless,’ Irving told reporters.