Kevin Durant speaks on Kyrie Irving’s vaccination status after Nets suffer uncomfortable loss to the Bucks
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Even without Kyrie Irving, the Milwaukee Bucks vs Brooklyn Nets game was undeniably supposed to be a massive one. However, it is undeniable that the star’s presence would’ve added a little more oomph to it from the home team’s side of things.
At the end of the day though, given that this match was played in Brooklyn, Kyrie couldn’t participate. Why? Well, because New York has a Covid-19 vaccination mandate. And because Kyrie Irving refuses to get the shot, he isn’t allowed to enter spaces with large amounts of people, which includes NBA arenas in the Big Apple.
As you’d expect, this is kind of a big deal. And given that the Nets essentially got blown out, despite the Bucks not even being able to play Jrue Holiday, as you’d expect, reporters raised questions about Irving to Durant, something the Nets superstar had a very, very stern response for.
Kevin Durant says he will not force Kyrie Irving to take the Covid shot just for basketball
This game ended with a final scoreline of 121-109 in favor of the Bucks. And yes, while that is embarrassing on some level for the Nets, it is easy to forget that, at the end of the day, this is just basketball. And it appears that idea is something Kevin Durant wholeheartedly agrees with.
After the game, when he was asked a question regarding Irving’s vaccination status, here is what he had to say.
“I’m not about to force somebody to get a vaccine. … Whatever decision he wants to make, he’s gonna make.”
KD on if he talks to Kyrie about getting vaccinated so he can be a full-participant player
(via @SNYNets)pic.twitter.com/fB4WwcuxA4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 8, 2022
Even as advocates of the vaccine, we do recognize that it can be a major life decision, that needs massive deliberation before a decision is reached.
We will say that we have criticized Kyrie Irving in the past for his choice not to take the vaccine. However, we also realize that this is a decision each individual must come to on their own. And with that in mind, we respect KD’s decision to not try and force Kyrie Irving to get the shot.
Still, we do hope that Kyrie Irving does soon decide to get the shot after all his research on the matter.
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