Eric Adam‘s plan to amend New York City’s vaccine mandates will not apply to Kyrie Irving…or other city employees. According to the mayor, lifting the vaccine requirement for the Brooklyn Nets star would “send the wrong message” as he hasn’t done the same for other workers in the city.
“Listen, I want Kyrie on the court. I would do anything to get that ring,” Adams said in an interview with CNBC. “But there’s so much at stake here.”
“We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court, but this is a bigger issue. I can’t have my city closed down again,” he continued. “It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we’re telling countless number of New York City employees, ‘If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to be employed.’”
According to multiple news outlets, daily COVID-19 cases have dropped steeply within the last month. If numbers continue to decrease, Adams’ plan to remove vaccination requirements for “indoor dining, fitness and entertainment venues” in New York City will go into effect on Monday (March 7.) The mandates, however, will still apply in other cases, including the work authorization process for city employees. “All other vaccine mandates in New York City will remain in place at this time as they are, and have been, vital to protecting New Yorkers,” he said. Unfortunately, Irving, who is unvaccinated, is still not exempt from the mandate.
As fans know, Irving has been banned from home games because of his non-compliance with NYC’s vaccine mandate. While Adams agrees that the ban “doesn’t quite make sense,” he’s been leery about sending the wrong message.
“Having this city close down again keeps me up at night and the message was put in place, the rule was put in place… to start changing it now I think it would send mixed messages,” he explained. “I’m struggling with this, just to be honest with you.”