Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving Reveals Leaving More Than $100M By Not Getting COVID-19 Vaccination
Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving Reveals Leaving More Than $100 Million By Not Getting COVID-19 Vaccination
The coronavirus pandemic brought about changes to virtually every person as the effects of the virus affected the world. Outside of the disruption to regular life, Brooklyn Nets basketball player, Kyrie Irving stated that his decision to remain unvaccinated affected his pockets in a very substantial way.
According to ESPN, the NBA team had its media day at the beginning of the week and Irving gave a statement pertaining to his decision to boycott the vaccination that, although it was an unpopular decision, many did support his views on it. Unfortunately for the New Jersey-raised player, those supporters weren’t owners of the Brooklyn Nets.
Irving rejected a four-year extension before the start of the 2021-22 season which turned out to cost him more than $100 million in salary.
“I gave up four years, 100-and-something million deciding to be unvaccinated and that was the decision,” Irving stated on Monday at the Brooklyn Nets media day. “[Get this] contract, get vaccinated or be unvaccinated and there’s a level of uncertainty of your future, whether you’re going to be in this league, whether you’re going to be on this team, so I had to deal with that real-life circumstance of losing my job for this decision.”
The point guard, considered to be one of the best players in the NBA stated that he felt that he was given “an ultimatum” from the basketball team when requested to obtain a vaccination. Stating that it was a “tough pill to swallow” to not have the signed extension taken care of before the start of the season.
“We were supposed to have all that figured out before training camp last year,” the NBA champion said. “And it just didn’t happen because of the status of me being vaccinated, unvaccinated. So, I understood their point and I just had to live with it. It was a tough pill to swallow, honestly.”
Irving did opt-in for the last year of his current contract which will pay him a reported $36.5 million. Before he opted back in, several teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers where a reported reunion with LeBron James was discussed, inquired about the possibilities of the point guard joining their squad. The point guard wouldn’t have gotten the type of money he would have earned by signing on to stay with the team beyond this season.
There was pushback from Brooklyn Nets General Manager, Sean Marks on the perception of an ultimatum being placed on Irving.
“There’s no ultimatum being given here,” Marks stated. “Again, it goes back to you want people who are reliable, people who are here, and accountable. All of us: staff, players, coaches, you name it. It’s not giving somebody an ultimatum to get a vaccine. That’s a completely personal choice. I stand by Kyrie. I think if he wants, he’s made that choice. That’s his prerogative completely.”
Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving Reveals Leaving More Than $100 Million By Not Getting COVID-19 Vaccination
