Free Republic

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...

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...

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...

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...

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving will reportedly miss every Nets home game in New York “for the foreseeable future” since he still has not taken any of the various coronavirus vaccines. New York City’s coronavirus mitigation rules require all pro athletes to be vaccinated before being allowed to enter a city arena or stadium. Still, Irving has continued to stonewall the rule, refusing to get vaccinated or talk much about it to the press. [cut] Nash added that they have to assume that Irving will miss all 41 home games in Brooklyn. He will also miss games against the Knicks,...

The fact that 24-year-old Jonathan Isaac can speak more cogently about COVID and freedom of conscience than the entire corporate press is an astonishing development.One of the most remarkable twists in the pandemic is that a handful of NBA players have emerged as the most cogent and principled defenders of liberty, common sense, and basic civic decency in America.It’s a bit unexpected. In recent years, the NBA has most often landed in the political news cycle thanks to LeBron James’ disgusting habit of bowing and scraping before the Chinese Communist Party, or Steve Kerr’s refusal to breathe a word about...

NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes in Jacobin arguing that athletes like Kyrie Irving aren’t making a “personal choice” by refusing the COVID vaccine — they’re jeopardizing the public health of all through their platforms. =========================== I'm a huge fan of LeBron James, both as one of the greatest basketball players ever and as a humanitarian who cares about social injustice. I have written his praises many times in the past and undoubtedly will in the future. I admire him and have affection for him. But this time, LeBron is just plain wrong — and his being wrong could be deadly,...

Stephen A. Smith believes Kyrie Irving should retire from basketball. The ESPN hot-take artist thinks Irving’s personal leave of absence is proof his heart isn’t into the game and he owes it to fans, the Nets organization and his teammates to step away. “He’s not worth [the drama] at all,” Smith said on the network on Wednesday. “Matter of fact, let me say this straight up and down: I think Kyrie Irving should retire. I think he should announce his retirement today. Clearly, you don’t want to play basketball bad enough.” The 28-year-old Irving will miss his fifth straight game...

The Brooklyn Nets suspended Kyrie Irving for at least five games without pay Thursday, dismayed by his repeated failure to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs." Hours after Irving refused to issue the apology NBA commissioner Adam Silver sought for posting a link to an antisemitic work on his Twitter feed, the Nets said Irving is "currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets." "We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not...

Kyrie Irving’s tacit endorsement of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones last month flew under the radar. That is until Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put the Nets star on blast, ripping his “gelatinous ignorance” and accusing him of tarnishing the reputations of all athletes. “Kyrie Irving would be dismissed as a comical buffoon if it weren’t for his influence over young people,” Abdul-Jabbar, 75, wrote on his Substack. Irving is unquestionably a Hall of Fame-level talent and has always been respectful of the basketball icons that came before him. But six-time NBA MVP Abdul-Jabbar — viewed by many other stars as the greatest of...

After the Nets star on Thursday tweeted a link to “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” a 2018 film that is filled with anti-Semitic disinformation, he began to receive blowback from his employers on Friday. A Rolling Stone story cited the film’s statements, including claims that “many famous high-ranking Jews” have “admitted” to “worship[ing] Satan or Lucife.” The report called the film “venomously anti-Semitic.” “I am an OMNIST and I meant no disrespect to anyone’s religious beliefs,” Irving posted to Twitter on Saturday afternoon. “The ‘Anti-Semitic’ label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not...

The saga surrounding Brooklyn Nets star basketball player Kyrie Irving and the now-infamous tweet continues. He has been under fire for posting an image of a movie from Amazon Prime ...

MSNBC’s Morning Joe responded on Friday to Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving’s apology for promoting an antisemitic film, condemning the NBA and Nike for their continued relationships with the point guard. Both Nike and the NBA “believe in social justice, just not for Jews,” said host Joe Scarborough of the situation. Irving tweeted last week in support of the documentary “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which peddles conspiracy theories about Jews and uses antisemitic tropes and language. The basketball star and self-styled independent thinker posted an apology on Thursday following backlash over the tweet, saying that he agrees...