The Nets guard missed a majority of the regular season due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
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Kyrie Irving made headlines throughout the 2021–22 NBA season due to his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Nets guard would not get the vaccine even when New York City set a vaccine mandate for private employers, meaning unvaccinated professional athletes in the city were not allowed to compete in home games. Eventually, the mandate was changed allowing Irving to play in Brooklyn towards the end of the season.
In Wednesday’s episode of The ETCs with Kevin Durant and Eddie Gonzalez, Irving called himself a “martyr” because of the situation.
“I was not expecting a mandate to be brought down in a way where it wasn’t going to let me play at all,” Irving said. “I had the opportunity to play away games still, but there was no plan in place, there was no vision of how it was going to work for our team. And I think that really impacted not just me, but a lot of people. Just had to sit in that hot seat for a little bit and deal with it. The life of a martyr, bro.”
Irving continued to say that many things he says either publicly or privately would be considered controversial. Gonzales told him he should expect to be on the hot seat for a while based on his opinions on these controversial subject matters. Irving understood that, and even called himself a “provocateur.”
“Not everybody understood my stance this year of being unvaccinated or remaining unvaccinated,” Irving said. “I was asked in all different types of ways how I felt and whether or not I was going to waver, did I feel like I was letting the world down or letting the Nets fans down, letting my teammates down. Yeah, part of that letdown feeling definitely seeped in, because it completely caught me off guard. I didn’t expect to come into the season with all of this being put on my plate.”
The 30-year-old admitted he wanted to “stay rooted” in his decision despite the backlash and “ultimatum” the city gave him with the vaccine mandate.
Irving has still not publicly explained why he won’t be vaccinated.
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