In 2021, New York implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate to protect its residents during the pandemic. However, this policy nearly jeopardized Kyrie Irving’s career. He refused to get vaccinated and even left the game temporarily to stand by his principles. Dr. Jay Varma, the architect of this mandate, was recently caught on camera boasting about this national issue.
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The revelations surfaced online after activist Steven Crowder’s Mug Club Undercover conducted a sting operation on Varma. In the footage, the doctor appeared to take pride in how his vaccine mandate kept Irving from playing basketball. He also joked about how ‘The Wall Street Journal’ wrote a piece about this situation and blamed him for restricting the 2016 NBA champion.
“There was a basketball player named Kyrie Irving. He refused to get vaccinated. But because he played for the team in Brooklyn, because of the vaccine mandates that I passed, he was not allowed to play… This is a fun part of my life… ‘The Wall Street Journal’ wrote a whole story about me being the one that blocked Kyrie Irving from playing basketball.”
Dr. Jay Varma, the former NYC Covid policy architect, bragged about preventing Kyrie Irving from playing basketball for the Nets after Irving refused to take the Covid vaccine.
“This is a fun part of my life…The Wall Street Journal wrote a whole story about me being the one… pic.twitter.com/c9cmfsVQAV
— The Brooklyn Way (@Jersey2Brooklyn) September 21, 2024
The situation unfolded at the start of the 2021/22 season. During that time, Varma served as an advisor on social distancing for the previous Bill de Blasio administration. He pushed for mandatory vaccinations even for NBA players in New York State.
This meant that Irving, who was with the Brooklyn Nets, had to get vaccinated to start the season. However, the 32-year-old had serious doubts about the repercussions of the COVID-19 vaccine. He thus refused to comply.
It left the franchise no choice but to exclude him from the beginning of the campaign. This decision raised numerous questions about his future in the NBA. The tension peaked when Irving became increasingly vocal about the issue in the following months.
This incident divided the nation. While some backed Irving’s stance, Varma’s actions garnered widespread support. However, everything changed after Crowder’s sting operation came to light.
Despite leading the COVID response in the state, Varma admitted to attending an underground rave during the height of the pandemic. Around that time, he also organized a sex party with his wife instead of quarantining. He was caught on tape describing these experiences, saying,
“It was fun. We all took… Molly [Ecstasy/MDMA] and it was… eight to 10 of us in a room and everybody had a blast because everybody was like so pent up because like everybody was stuck together and stuff like that. And sometimes it isn’t so much about like penetrative sexual stuff. Some of it is just something about like bodies being close to each other. Just being naked with friends.”
This has made the former senior public health adviser look hypocritical. It has consequently added weight to Irving’s original stance. While the NBA star has yet to respond to these revelations, he likely will soon. When he does, the league could be bracing for another controversial chapter.
