Adam Silver: NYC Vax Mandate ‘Doesn’t Quite Make Sense’ As It Relates To NBA

NBA commissioner Adam Silver was asked about the vaccine mandate in New York City, specifically as it related top Nets star Kyrie Irving, who has not been allowed to play. Irving is not vaccinated and has said he has no intentions of changing that.

“This law in New York, the oddity of it to me is that is only applies to home players,” Silver said on ESPN’s Get Up, via Nick Geddes of OutKick. “If ultimately that rule is protecting people who are in the arena, it just doesn’t make quite sense to me that an away player can play at Barclays, but the home player can’t. To me, that’s a reason they should look at that ordinance.”

Right now, there is no indication that New York City will lift its indoor vaccine requirements, but it is believed it could do so soon — perhaps before the playoffs in April, as reports of COVID-19 cases continue to plummet.

“Being here in the New York market, the feeling particularly in the last week, many of the masking restrictions are being lifted. You can just feel it in the city. There are more people in restaurants. There are more people out and about,” Silver said.

“While, again, my personal view is people should get vaccinated and boosted, I can imagine a scenario where Brooklyn as part of New York City, with a new mayor who wasn’t in place, Eric Adams, when that ordinance was put in place. I can see him deciding to change along the way and say ‘It’s no longer necessary to have a mandatory vaccination requirement.’ Particularly one that only affects home players.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver weighs in on the New York vaccine requirements, which have kept Kyrie Irving out of home games.

“It just doesn’t quite make sense to me that an away player who’s unvaccinated can play in Barclays, but the home player can’t." pic.twitter.com/epMYGZhYdz

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 16, 2022