Protestors have gathered around the Barclays Center on Friday to support the limited Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving while expressing their frustration against the ongoing vaccine mandate in New York.
Per Brian Lewis of the New York Post, rallyists brought signs and posters that read “Wake up New York” and “Brooklyn loves Kyrie” to deliver their advocacy. Some also ripped up their Nets tickets and images of Mayor Eric Adams who currently faces backlash from the city’s fans for not repealing yet the private sector’s vaccine mandate – the guideline that continuously hinders Irving from playing with his team during home games.
Recently, City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan claimed that New York’s public and private COVID-19 vaccine mandate would likely be continued on an “indefinite” basis, even defended them because of its effect on maintaining the safety of the citizens within the locality.
As the NBA playoffs are nearing, the Nets continue to find themselves dipped down in the deep waters of the competitive Eastern Conference, sitting at the eighth spot with a 37-34 card. The franchise only has 11 more games to ponder in the regular season which will truly impact their seedings, but Irving can only play four of them on the road. Indeed as the private mandate continues to exist, time will only tell what would be their place in the league come April.
The Nets are set to face the visiting Utah Jazz on Tuesday and will attempt to climb up further from the standings.
