NBA: Nets star Kyrie Irving set to lose $380,000 over vaccination status

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is set to lose over $380,000 as he missed a preseason game on Friday night over his vaccination status. New York requires most teens and adults to have at least one vaccination shot to be eligible to enter facilities like sports arenas, according to the New York Times. 

Meanwhile, the league’s plans of docking pay of unvaccinated players for games that they miss because of local COVID-19 measures has been met with resistance from the NBA players’ association. Irving, who is a vice president of the association, has not publicly spoken about his vaccination status yet and has asked for privacy instead.

The 29-year-old star was listed as “ineligible to play” the preseason home game against champions the Milwaukee Bucks at the Barclays Center on Friday.  While Irving has not trained with the Nets in Brooklyn so far, a report in The Athletic stated the Nets’ training facility has been declared a private office by the city of New York, allowing Irving to return to practice. 

The $380,000 that will be docked by the NBA represents 1% of Irving’s base pay for the 2021-22 season. The disagreement between the league and the players’ association stems from a section of the collective bargaining agreement that allows the league to take action against players who “without proper and reasonable cause or excuse” fail to fulfill their contractual obligation. 

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NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said last week, “any player who elects not to comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for games that he misses.”

The players’ union has pushed back against plans to implement a league-wide vaccine mandate. 

Irving’s situation has created a problem for the Nets, whose title aspirations may take  a big hit without one of their mainstays for a significant number of games this season. The Nets, who have not publicly confirmed Irving’s vaccination status, had so far held their training camp in San Diego, California.