“The Kyrie Irving vaccine conversation would be different if it were LeBron James”: Jim Jackson and Gilbert Arenas hint towards double standards in the NBA concerning the COVID-19 vaccine

Gilbert Arenas and Jim Jackson talk about how the Kyrie Irving vaccine debacle may have been different if LeBron James were in Kyrie’s place. 

Kyrie Irving has been the talk of the NBA for the past few weeks or so and it’s no surprise that he is. The Brooklyn Nets star emphatically stated that he has no plans on getting the COVID-19 vaccine anytime soon, leaving Nets General Manager, Sean Marks, no choice but to forbid him from playing or practicing with the team. 

This was done so as to confirm that only full-time participants for the Nets would be playing together so as to build chemistry with one another. Kyrie Irving recently took to his Instagram live to state that he has a problem with the fact that vaccination is a state mandate, rather than an individual’s choice.

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Essentially banning Kyrie from playing with the Nets may seem a bit drastic but it does bring into question if such a measure would’ve been put into place of a player of LeBron James’s caliber were in Irving’s place. 

Jim Jackson and Gilbert Arenas on Kyrie Irving. 

Jim Jackson recently sat down with Gilbert Arenas to talk about Kyrie Irving and his place within the league amidst all of the vaccine talk, at great length. During this conversation, Jackson points out that this situation may have been handled differently if a superstar like LeBron James or Kevin Durant were where Irving is now. 

“Sean Marks’ job is to do what’s best for the organization in reasonable terms and allowing Kyrie Irving to be who he is. At the same time, I’ve got 14 other guys that I have to adhere to, to give them the best opportunity to win. And one guy, unless it’s LeBron, can’t outtrump- if this is LeBron, this is a whole different conversation,” said Jackson.

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Arenas follows up with Jackson here and asks him, “You think this is a different conversation if this is KD? Do you think they would be doing the same thing if this were Kevin Durant?” 

The 14 year NBA vet hilariously says that the Nets would not be doing the same if Durant had taken the former Cavalier’s place in this vaccine debacle.