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Loud calls for vaccination: “Unconventional thinkers” alarm in the NBA

Loud calls for mandatory vaccination
“Maverick” alert in the NBA

Superstar Kyrie Irving is possibly one of the 40 or so vaccine refusals among NBA professionals. He could miss all Brooklyn Nets home games due to the regulations in New York. Unlike coaches and referees, the professionals are allowed to refuse the vaccination. That creates trouble.

Kyrie Irving was spared a flash of flashlights. But not the annoying questions to which the Brooklyn Nets superstar would rather not give answers on NBA Media Day when he was sitting in the semi-darkness in front of the wall unit. Because of the corona protocol of the city of New York, the vaccination skeptic had to be switched on via zoom on the computer, in the Barclays Center only the teammates were available.

Vaccinated or not? That was the most burning question. Irving was buttoned up that he wanted to “keep the matter private,” said the 29-year-old. All the excitement bothers him. “That was the last thing I wanted. More distraction and drama around the subject.”

Even if Irving didn’t want to confirm it: The seven-time all-star is almost certainly one of the 40 professionals who, according to media reports, have not (yet) received the injection around three weeks before the start of the season in the North American professional basketball league. If it stays that way, the Nets will miss Irving in their home games. Because New York Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered last month that unvaccinated professional athletes are not allowed to train or play indoors.

“This is just nonsense”

There is a lot of stress around the virus in the NBA. The same rule as in the Big Apple applies in San Francisco, where the Golden State Warriors play. Andrew Wiggins is also not vaccinated, which is why the 26-year-old recently applied for an exemption for religious reasons – the NBA refused.

The league is in a difficult position. A planned compulsory vaccination for the professionals met with resistance from the players’ union NBPA and ultimately did not come through. However, this applies to referees, coaches and members of the team. And from these circles more and more resentment stirs. “Everyone who is vaccinated should be mad at those who are not,” said an unnamed assistant coach at ESPN: “Not to require NBA players to be vaccinated is just horse shit,” which is nonsense.

The number of vaccination breakthroughs is currently increasing. Ime Udoka, the new coach of the Boston Celtics around the German national player Dennis Schröder, ended the ten-day quarantine on Monday after a positive test – despite the vaccination. “The same standards must apply to the players as to us,” demanded an athletic coach from an NBA club, pointing out the dangers for children who could not be vaccinated.

Is the earth flat?

Irving, who is supposed to attend the upcoming training camp in San Diego, is unlikely to be dissuaded from his path. The point guard is known for unconventional thinking. Years ago, for example, he claimed that the earth was “flat”, repeatedly refusing interviews and paying fines. There is no criticism from colleagues. “This is Kyrie’s business and his personal decision,” said Irving’s team-mate Kevin Durant. It is not about “speculating what happens”.

Even Jayson Tatum of the Celtics, who was hit by the consequences of corona disease, says: “It’s your own decision. I understand the concerns of those who are not vaccinated. It’s about their health.”

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