Brooklyn Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving is reportedly being listed as out for Friday's pre-season contest against the Milwaukee Bucks, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Friday's absence will be the first time Irving misses a home game due to New York City's vaccine requirement.
Irving is not able to practice in Brooklyn or play in Nets home games as long as he remains unvaccinated due to municipal public health guidelines which bar people who have not received the vaccine from entering spaces like arenas.
Beginning with Friday's matchup, the 29-year-old is slated to lose just over $380,000 for each game missed, in accordance with an agreement that was struck between the league and players' union for how to navigate this novel situation.
On Tuesday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst reported the Brooklyn Nets had not reached a decision on whether the team will accommodate Kyrie Irving as a part-time player this season if he does not get vaccinated. Nets head coach Steve Nash also said practices would not be relocated to accommodate Irving.
Sources with @WindhorstESPN: The Brooklyn Nets remain unclear on All-Star guard Kyrie Irving’s ultimate intentions to get vaccinated and have made no decision on whether the organization will accommodate him as a part-time player this season. Story soon on ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 6, 2021
If Irving were to miss all 41 Nets regular-season home games, he would forfeit around $15.6 million of his $35.2 million contract.
Though 95 per cent of the league is believed to be vaccinated, Irving has been one of a vocal minority of players who have espoused a range of anti-vaccine sentiments.
Editor's note: With overwhelming consistency, research has shown vaccinations against COVID-19 are safe and effective. Residents of Canada who are looking to learn more about vaccines, or the country's pandemic response, can find up-to-date information on Canada's public health website.
There had been optimism, according to Wojnarowski, that Irving would get vaccinated and fulfil these local mandates. But, with the team unaware of his ultimate intentions regarding the vaccine, that hope is waning and the Nets are now believed to be preparing for the possibility they will play without him for large stretches of the foreseeable future.
Irving, a vice president on the NBA Players' Association's executive committee, is believed to be one of the leading player voices against vaccine mandates in the NBA, despite the overwhelming evidence that vaccines reduce both the spread of the virus and the likelihood an individual will suffer severe adverse effects if they do contract COVID-19.
The NBA players' union has not yet agreed to a vaccine mandate and has, according to prior reporting from Wojnarowski, denied the league's proposals for one to be implemented. The referees' union, however, has agreed to one. In the WNBA, 99 per cent of players were fully vaccinated by June without a mandate going into effect.
When recently asked about his vaccination status during the Nets' media day, which he was unable to attend in person due to the vaccine protocols, Irving said on Instagram Live that he'd "like to keep that stuff private" and insisted "the last thing" he wanted to create was "more hoopla and more distractions."
