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NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving says he turned down a four-year extension prior to the 2021-22 season because of his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19. "I gave up four years, 100-and-something million deciding to be unvaccinated and that was the decision," Irving said during Nets media day on Monday. "[Get this] contract, get vaccinated or be unvaccinated and there's a level of uncertainty of your future, whether you're going to be in this league, whether you're going to be on this team, so I had to deal with that real-life circumstance of losing my job...

RIP Superteam. Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Nets on Thursday in a seismic move that will set back the franchise and shake up the NBA. Three years to the day after joining Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, Durant asked out in a move first reported by The Athletic and confirmed by The Post. The tenure together ends as an abject failure, with just 44 games played, one playoff series victory and no titles. Now Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks has agreed to work with Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman to find a new home...

Mayor Eric Adams will ease the city’s private-sector vaccination mandate so Nets star Kyrie Irving — and some possibly unvaccinated Mets and Yankees — can compete at home, a source familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Adams is expected to announce the reversal of his earlier stance on Thursday, the source told The Post. The move will cover Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, home to the Nets, as well as Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, the Mets’ Citi Field in Queens and Manhattan’s famed Madison Square Garden, home to both the Knicks and the Rangers, the source said. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge...

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ripped the National Basketball Association (NBA) Tuesday after fining the Brooklyn Nets $50,000 for allowing an unvaccinated Kyrie Irving to step inside the locker room. “One final example for just how asinine this is: the NBA just fined Kyrie Irving $50,000 because [of] their rules, the rules of New York City,” Cruz said. “Here’s how idiotic it is: Kyrie Irving could go to a game, could sit in the stands not being vaccinated, which he did. That was perfectly okay. But if he actually plays, that’s not permissible.” “Because apparently in addition to Diet Coke...

ORLANDO, Fla. — In a career of great offensive nights, this was Kyrie Irving’s greatest. The Nets star’s mesmerizing 60 points were a career-high and a franchise record, while matching an NBA season-best. Those 60 points also led the Nets to their fourth consecutive win, a 150-108 rout of the Magic, as Irving was showered with cheers and serenaded with chants of “Kyrie! Kyrie!” from the Amway Center crowd of 15,282. The irony of the Magic crowd reveling in Irving’s magic while he still can’t play on his home court at Barclays Center wasn’t lost on the Nets. Now Irving...

Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday agreed with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver who said it “doesn’t quite make sense” that Nets star Kyrie Irving can’t play at Barclays Center while visiting players who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 can — but cautioned changing the rule might send “the wrong message.” Following a press conference about the city’s 2023 budget, Adams told reporters he was “struggling” with the aspect of the municipal vaccine regulation that allows away players inside sports venues but bars athletes who live in the five boroughs from entering their hometown arenas, while declining to reveal if he...

KYRIE IRVING OF THE BROOKLYN NETS After all the back and forth, and Kyrie sitting out half the season, it appears the Nets can simply pay $5K per game to allow Kyrie to play in home games in Brooklyn. The Nets have a total of 22 home games remaining. Kyrie Irving could be available in Nets home games if Brooklyn is willing to pay a ‘small fine’, per @SBondyNYDN1st offense: Warning.2nd offense: $1K fine.3rd offense: $2K fine.4th offense: $5K fine.5th offense to infinity offenses: $5K fine(Via https://t.co/g9z4zDGSRz) pic.twitter.com/3WXCfxdULm— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) January 12, 2022

If you were looking to see Kyrie Irving back to work with the Brooklyn Nets, you had to look fast because it’s already over. Less than 24 hours after rejoining the team part-time, the Nets announced that Irving – the league’s most outspoken anti-vax mandate proponent – had entered the NBA’s coronavirus protocols. According to Yahoo: "The 29-year-old point guard has not played a single NBA game this season after being benched by the Nets over his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Now, Irving must return negative tests for five consecutive days before he is eligible to return to...

Kyrie Irving finally is headed back to the Nets, at least on a part-time basis. The unvaccinated Big 3 guard has begun the process to return to the COVID-hampered squad as a player eligible to participate in road games outside New York, according to multiple reports. Irving hasn’t played this season because of his refusal to comply with New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but The Athletic reported earlier this week that there was “renewed optimism” for a potential return at some point this season. With Irving barred from participating in home games at Barclays Center, Nets GM Sean Marks declared...

The Brooklyn Nets are bringing back All-Star guard Kyrie Irving as a part-time player for games outside of New York, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The unfolding circumstances of Brooklyn's season - including injuries, players lost to health and safety protocols and an inordinate minutes load on their superstar players led the team to this move, sources said. So far, Irving has been unwilling to satisfy New York City mandates and become vaccinated to play home games, but the turbulence of the ongoing NBA season has caused the organization to reconsider their preseason decision to fully sideline Irving, sources said....

There's a chance an unvaccinated Kyrie Irving could still play for the Brooklyn Nets this season, but it would require New York to lift its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. If that happens, Nets coach Steve Nash would welcome Irving back to the club. Nash made those comments following Eric Adams being elected as the new mayor of New York. During his campaign, Adams expressed a desire to "revisit" vaccine mandates, according to MSNBC. Adams may have been referring to vaccination policies for police and firefighters, however, and not NBA players. Adams getting elected does open the possibility of the COVID-19 vaccine...

The Nets’ home opener was a wreck, from the testy pro-Kyrie Irving protests outside that forced Barclays Center to briefly close its doors, to getting their doors blown off in a 111-95 loss to the Hornets. After leading by double-digits just before halftime and by nine in the third quarter, the Nets got blitzed 32-17 in a sorry fourth quarter to lose their home opener before a sellout crowd of 17,732, including Jay-Z sitting right next to their bench. [cut] Durant had a game-high 38 points, but James Harden, who scored 15 points, was the only other Net in double-figures....

NEW YORK -- A group of protesters gathered outside Barclays Center waving flags and signs while chanting, "No vaccine mandate, stand with Kyrie" before the Brooklyn Nets' home opener against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Around 100 people stood in the plaza outside the arena and on the street blocking traffic on Flatbush Avenue, many showing their support for Nets point guard Kyrie Irving's decision not to get at least one vaccination shot to comply with New York City's mandate in order to play home games. At one point, a few of the protesters pushed barriers and got to the...

Howard Stern is again on the warpath against people who oppose his vaccination ideals, especially NBA player Kyrie Irving who Stern is now calling the “top idiot in the world.” Stern, who now hosts a Sirius program, finally returned from another vacation and immediately went on the attack against the 29-year-old Brooklyn Nets star for refusing to take the coronavirus vaccine. Stern led by saying that Irving is “the biggest idiot in the country right now,” Outkick noted. “Talk about stupid, there’s some people who are willing to walk away from millions of dollars and not get vaccinated,” Stern blathered...

ESPN “First Take” host Stephen A. Smith got into a heated discussion with colleague Jay Williams on Wednesday regarding Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated. Irving reportedly isn’t getting vaccinated because he opposes mandates forcing him to take vaccines. That move could cost the star his entire season due to not being able to play home games because of New York’s vaccine policies. Williams, who played in the NBA, voiced his opposition to the vaccinated, labeling the unvaccinated “stupid” or “selfish” by the likes of Smith. “I’m just telling you how it feels to some people, Stephen...

On Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets decided to ban star Kyrie Irving from the team until he gets vaccinated. Unfortunately, he has also been abandoned by his teammates, who have remained silent during his fight for his liberty. Irving has insisted that his vaccination decisions are not for the NBA, his team, or the City of New York to mandate and has stood for his liberty as an American citizen to make his own medical decisions. [cut] According to the Athletic, Irving has told teammates he is not anti-vax. Still, he is against the idea that he should be forced to...

Per Charania, Irving is upset with the fact that people are being fired from their jobs in places where vaccines are mandated. A close source reportedly told The Athletic that the six-time All Star wants to “be a voice” for people who have had their lives affected due to imposed vaccine regulations. From the report: Multiple sources with direct knowledge of Irving’s decision have told The Athletic that Irving is not anti-vaccine and that his stance is that he is upset that people are losing their jobs due to vaccine mandates. It’s a stance that Irving has explained to close...

Nets guard Kyrie Irving will still cash in on the 2021-22 NBA season, despite not being a part of the team. On Tuesday, Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said Irving will not play or practice with the Nets until eligible under New York’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. However, Irving will still earn his salary for away games, Marks said. The All-Star guard, though, will not be paid for games missed in New York — 41 at Barclays Center and two at Madison Square Garden — due to New York’s COVID-19 mandate. Brooklyn is unable to hold Irving’s pay for away games...

The Brooklyn Nets won’t allow basketball star Kyrie Irving to participate in any team activities until he receives the COVID-19 vaccine, the team announced Tuesday. “Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose,” it continued. “Currently, the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not...

In the wake of Nets star Kyrie Irving’s apparent refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the 29-year-old will not play until he does, the team announced in a surprise statement Tuesday morning. Exactly one week before the Nets kick off their regular season against the Bucks, the team announced Irving will not practice or play — even during away games, where he is allowed to participate. “Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant,” the...