Kyrie Irving attends sundays game as a fan, but cant show up as a player
By: Tres T
Throughout the last two years of this new world that we didn’t have a choice but to enter, navigating Covid-19, masks mandates, and having vaccines advertisements shoved down our throats at all hours of the day, it has truly opened my eyes to just how stupid this world can be. You’d think after over 24 months of dealing with this pandemic, and after all of the idiotic rules and suggestions made by the people in charge we would have weeded the bad ones out by now, but no, we’re still seeing it take place every single day.
On Sunday afternoon, it was put on a stage that for the whole world to see. Seven time NBA All-Star and Brooklyn Nets guard, Kyrie Irving, continued his fight against his organization as he wasn’t allowed to play in the Nets game versus the New York Knicks.
With the decision to remain unvaccinated, Kyrie Irving has been disqualified to participate in home games played in the Barclay’s Center this season. This comes from a rule that has been set by the city of New York that enforces employees who work for a ‘New York based business’ to require the vaccine to work. One on hand, that is absurd because you’re forcing someone to inject something into their body to function in day-to-day events whether they want to or not. This isn’t like this is some hobby for him that he could live without, this is his literal job. The rule is effecting his career – the prime of it if that helps make the case even more worse – and is sidelining him because his political and moral views don’t align with the employer. It’s a shame that we’re transitioning into a world where businesses and companies feel the need to force their political agendas down everyones throats, as if they think that is what we come to them for. Attention Brooklyn Nets and the city of New York, we come to your city to look at the sights and sounds built there and to watch your basketball team play, not to come listen (and be forced) to engage with your political views. Do they not realize who generates the income to keep their organization afloat? That’s right, the players do. And a star like Kyrie Irving can leave tomorrow and find a new home that will accept him if he wanted to. He’s a star and this Covid-19 crap is getting in the way of his career and his daily life.
Anyways, now after I’ve completed my rant, the reason for this post is to show how dumb these rules have been. Sunday afternoon the Nets hosted Knicks, and Kyrie Irving wasn’t allowed to play (due to being unvaccinated) BUT, he was allowed to attend the game as a fan, unmasked and unvaccinated. Can anyone tell me how that makes any sense? It does not, whatsoever. He can’t play on the floor, but can sit 30 feet back and watch the game as a spectator. What?? And even more mind-boggling, he is allowed to play games in the same arena if he were to play for the opposing team… I honestly sit back and laugh to the fact that there are people who were sought out, hired, asked to make these decisions, went through and made the decisions, and then they sat back and thought to themselves, ‘yeah this is the correct answer.’ No matter what you individually believe on this topic, surely you can’t tell me that this makes sense to you, right?
And this comes from someone who is completely fine with people getting or not getting the vaccine as they please. It makes no difference to me. It’s your life, your choice to choose how you want to live it, so who am I to tell you what to inject into your body? All I’m begging for is to imply rules that at least have some consistency and that make some logical sense. This entire era of Covid has been all over the place, and whether you think so or not, it affects everyones lives and so of course there are some backlash to the rules when they aren’t backed by common sense.
After all that being said, good for Kyrie Irving. Standing up for what you believe in when it goes against the grain. Not letting the powers over rule you and your freedom to live how you want to. Isn’t that what Colin Kaepernick did? So where is Kyrie Irving’s Nike commercial that gets blasted across every television in the country and every internet timeline on people’s phones? Oh right, it goes against what the employer wants so it’s reprimanded for. Ridiculous.
Time will only tell for how this thing ultimately unfolds for Kyrie Irving. He seems to be stuck on his decision and will do what it takes to find justice.