Irving is not suspended. And the league said he can sit in the stands because he wasn’t a player that day and because until this week unvaccinated fans could sit in the stands.
The league doesn’t have a vaccine mandate. It is a city mandate and Kyrie Irving just proved the idiocy of it.
If unvaccinated visiting players and unvaccinated spectators can watch/play at Barclays Center, then an unvaccinated Nets player should be allowed to do the same. Period.
All this talk about follow the rules is complete sense. The current Mayor says he cannot change the rule because Bill DeBlasio ordered it and he is just following the rules. If the previous mayor can order a rule, another mayor can take it away. This is all Covid theater that Eric Adams is playing.
And if you want to play it’s a choice and the legal game, get the vaccine or we are going to take away your job. And by the way we are not going to provide accommodation and are going to blow off your exemption. That is not a choice. That is tyranny. When you have an objection, this can’t just be ignored and blown off. This violates your rights and all kinds of federal laws: Civil Rights Acto of 1964, EEOC, your unalienable rights, etc. Everyone has rights no matter what Fauci says, some commissioner of a sporting league, CEO of a company or a Mayor has to say.
An update:
The team did get fined for his entering the locker room and it was done by the NBA, not by the NYC.
As per the suspension, you are correct. They finagled a way for him to play in away games by calling it “inactive.” Originally it was going to be a suspension until he vaxxed.
However he is not allowed to participate in the practices or games at home. If it was a full suspension, he would have an offer to appeal the decision to dock his pay. But because it is an inactive decision, which is a cop out for the team, he has no appeal. And he is the VP of the NBAPA.
Turns out he can practice and play in any other city, except Toronto. But I’m not sure if he can be considered inactive at home as he is not allowed to play or be involved with the team as a team functioner.
An inactive designation is not IR. So if they go into a game where one of the players on the active list becomes unavailable, if they are playing at home, he cannot be made active. So if they do that with all three status players and they need them, he can’t help at home or in Toronto.
Very confusing.
wy69