ESPN has reported that Brooklyn Nets Point Guard Kyrie Irving missed his team's media day because he refuses to comply with local COVID-19 protocols.
According to an executive order put forth by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, residents must receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before participating in physical activities at an indoor gym. As a result, unvaccinated members of the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets will only be able to participate in away games this season.
During the team's media day proceedings, Brooklyn Nets Forward Kevin Durant was asked about Irving's absence.
"That's on Kyrie and that's his personal decision. What he does is not on us to speculate what may happen," Durant told reporters.
"We trust in Kyrie, and I expect us to have our whole team at some point."
Durant's fellow all-star teammate James Harden was also asked about the matter. He said that he expects Irving to address the issue later in the week.
"Obviously Ky is a huge part of what we're trying to do," Harden added.
Irving has not publicly commented on his vaccination status or de Blasio's city-wide mandate. With that said, Brooklyn Nets General Manager Sean Marks believes that the city's COVID-19 protocols will not have an impact on the team's performance this season.
"Regarding if they could play today, I can't comment on who could play and so forth. There would obviously be a couple of people missing from that picture," Marks said when asked about the team's vaccination status.
"I won't get into who it is, but we feel confident in the following several days before camp everybody would be allowed to participate and so forth."
Irving will travel with the team to California for training camp this week. The Nets will open their preseason schedule on October 3 in Los Angeles before heading back to Brooklyn to play their first home preseason game on October 8. At this time, it is unclear if Irving plans to play in any games during the preseason.
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