The Brooklyn Nets were fined $50,000 by the National Basketball Association (NBA) for letting an unvaccinated Kyrie Irving step inside the team’s locker room at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn during halftime Sunday.
It appeared that Irving was allowed to sit courtside, maskless, inside the arena with his teammates and others attending Sunday’s Nets-Knicks game, but the team was found to have apparently violated a local mandate after Irving entered the locker room. The Nets were subsequently handed a $50,000 fine by the NBA, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. (RELATED: Kyrie Irving Still Isn’t Eligible To Play Home Games For The Nets With The Vaccine Mandate Set To Be Lifted)
This was the first home game that Irving has attended this season, following New York’s rescission of its indoor vaccine mandate, according to the New York Post. Irving allegedly violated “local New York City law and league health and safety protocols” by going into his team’s locker room.
The mandate is applicable to employers rather than individuals — therefore, the NBA fined the Nets, not Irving as an individual, the Post reported. (RELATED: Kyrie Irving Still Isn’t Eligible To Play Home Games For The Nets With The Vaccine Mandate Set To Be Lifted)
New York’s vaccine mandate was a major topic of discussion after the Nets’ 110-107 victory over the Knicks, according to Outkick. Irving’s teammate, 12-time All-Star forward Kevin Durant, called both the policy and Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams “stupid,” the outlet reported in another article.
🎥 Kevin Durant sounds off on NYC Mayor Eric Adams and the vaccine mandate pic.twitter.com/WNIEwJDfDv
— New York Post (@nypost) March 13, 2022
“I don’t get it. … It just feels like at this point now, somebody’s trying to make a statement or point to flex their authority,” Durant said in response to the. “Everybody out here looking for attention, and that’s what I feel that the mayor wants right now. Some attention.”