The Brooklyn Nets benched Kyrie Irving. On Tuesday, General Manager Sean Marks explained that Irving wouldn’t be able to practice or play for Brooklyn because of local COVID vaccination requirements. Marks said, “Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently, the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability. It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice.” New York City’s COVID requirements note that anyone entering an indoor gym, such as the Barclay’s Center or Madison Square Garden, needs to have at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.
