Two months into the 2021-22 NBA season, the league is feeling the effects of the latest COVID-19 surge. Whether fans will have to wear masks indoors and other precautions will be up to local jurisdictions, but the NBA is doing what it can to keep its players and with that, its entertainment product as safe from the pandemic as possible. They looked like a team who should strike fear in the hearts of every other team in the West. For now, NBA teams must submit a list of players and staff who aren't vaccinated to a league testing officer. But if the NBA wants a list of all the unvaccinated players, then it seems that there could be some other plan in the works without government intervention. Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. isnt comfortable taking the vaccine for COVID-19 and is adamant there shouldnt be a mandate for NBA players to take it. Irving, who serves as a vice president on the executive committee of the players union, recently started following and liking Instagram posts from a conspiracy theorist who claims that secret societies are implanting vaccines in a plot to connect Black people to a master computer for a plan of Satan. This Moderna microchip misinformation campaign has spread across multiple NBA locker rooms and group chats, according to several of the dozen-plus current players, Hall-of-Famers, league executives, arena workers and virologists interviewed for this story over the past week. Those are some of the most expensive seats in the building and bring in a lot of revenue for teams. Living in this public sphere, theres a lot of questions about whats going on in the world of Kyrie, he said, and I would love to just keep that private and handle that the right way with my team and go forward with a plan.. However, unvaccinated players will have to undergo daily testing prior to entering a team facility, participating in team activities or interacting with players and coaches. Ive talked to a lot of religious guys Im like: It saves peoples lives, so what is more important than that?, Kanters current franchise, the Boston Celtics, had multiple players unvaccinated as of Thursday, he and a teammate say. Of course, a new season is coming, and new challenges remain, Dr. Ho tells RS. The Nets general manager, Sean Marks, was forced to admit at a press conference this week that Brooklyn would have a couple people missing, were the odds-on title favorites forced to play at home right now. No major professional sports league in the United States has required its players to be vaccinated. #HaveYourOpinion #MakeYourMove pic.twitter.com/qpbZFUT6cR, Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter, who also received his vaccine in March, is also encouraging players and the public alike to get vaccinated and save lives., Get Vaccinated & Save Lives @RollingStone https://t.co/4IJcFlbR1f pic.twitter.com/dZZ2UqjI9S, If you're a player and you're not vaccinated and you miss a week or two weeks, Kanter explained. We can do all those things on the court. Odds & lines subject to change. Representatives for Durant and his fellow Nets superstar teammate, James Harden, did not respond to inquiries about whether they had yet to receive any shots. League officials provide weekly data and studies to teams with un-vaxxed players, many of whom they hope will be inoculated before the regular season begins on October 19. All Rights reserved. He took photos in a basketball gym, where all student-athletes over 12 had been required to get vaccinated for the coronavirus to play sports, and where, on this Wednesday afternoon in late August, Irving was playing by his own rules. Those numbers are about 10-to-15% more than the overall rate of American adults who are vaccinated. Coronavirus vaccines have been at the center of heated debates for the last year and a half, and the NBA is no different. Many players have reportedly still not gotten a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and it has caused a lot of tension in the league. Mask police in the arena. Before he returned to his day job for the 2021-2022 season, Irving made a trip last month to South Dakota. Looking ahead to the postseason, Suns coach Monty Williams also talked about Durant as a solid rim protector, which means they could allow Ayton to be more aggressive out high on pick-and-rolls knowing there is a quality backstop if needed. 184 points - 1983. Brooklyns Big Three are scheduled to speak on Monday morning at a league-mandated pre-season media day, which Irving skipped last year because, he wrote on Instagram, the media are pawns. Irvings aunt expected him to discuss vaccine hesitancy in the Black community, as well as the tragic experiments on sharecroppers in Tuskegee, while providing just as much knowledge and research base that you necessarily dont have to take this vaccine some of it is fake news, some of it is fake information, some of it is Doctor False-y, you dont really know.. How different will life by for vaccinated and unvaccinated players? The NBA denied Wiggins' request for a religious exemption from getting the COVID-19 vaccine. But on Friday, the league, that it had denied an application for a religious exemption by the unvaccinated Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, and that he cannot yet play in their home games in San Francisco which, like New York City, has a vaccination. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Fans in some of those seats the courtside ones, at least also will need to be vaccinated or have a recent negative test. Kyrie Irving's agent claimed he would announce his retirement from the NBA if the Brooklyn Nets traded him. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. LA joins NY, San Fran with sweeping vax mandate: Beginning Nov. 29, Los Angeles will become the third U.S. city to employ sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandates that will impact its local sports teams, joining New York and San Francisco. The Nets declined multiple requests to make a team doctor available for this story. The NBA does not require players to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to play. Inside practice facilities next week, vaccinated players expect to spend time convincing skeptical players to avoid a competitive disadvantage. Brooklyns Big Three are scheduled to speak on Monday morning at a league-mandated pre-season media day, which Irving skipped last year because, he wrote on Instagram, the media are pawns. Irvings aunt expected him to discuss vaccine hesitancy in the Black community, as well as the tragic experiments on sharecroppers in Tuskegee, while providing just as much knowledge and research base that you necessarily dont have to take this vaccine some of it is fake news, some of it is fake information, some of it is Doctor, People seeing Kyrie on the rez, the mother recalls, even though were in a pandemic, I dont think they stopped to be like, Are you vaccinated? 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Lillard was whistled for three quick fouls after halftime and Portland unsuccessfully challenged his fourth personal. That is a huge draw. it could literally change the whole season -- and we're trying to win a championship!. Appearing from his house for a brief press conference with reporters, Irving declined to answer directly four separate questions regarding his vaccination and playing status, after this story raised questions of whether he might skip home games to avoid public-health regulations. "Any player who elects not to comply with. If any of those players are in cities with requirements to be vaccinated for some indoor events New York and San Francisco have those requirements then unvaccinated players will not be able to enter the building to practice or play in games, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. So consider the Wizards lucky. but unvaccinated players may face regional restrictions when travelling . According to near-final medical guidance outlined to RS on Saturday, however, unvaccinated players have forced the league to cave on nearly every other demand. this season include an especially lengthy, warning of how much money is at stake from exposure and corresponding interruptions as a result of behavior off the court. Phoenix gets the W in Charlotte, 105-91 pic.twitter.com/rAdSKeEgn3. Webster says the Raptors are one second dose away from being fully vaccinated and will be at 100 per cent by opening night on Oct. 20. Yet, if their child was sick or they themselves needed emergency medical treatment, how quickly would they do exactly what those same experts told them to do?, Jonathan Isaac is known less by the average basketball fan for his play than for being that guy who stood up with his jersey on during the national anthem in the NBA bubble, while every other player on the court took a knee in a t-shirt declaring BLACK LIVES MATTER, amid a global reckoning on race and police killings. Unvaccinated NBA players could face serious disciplinary action by the league if they are unable to play in Toronto under the Canadian government's new vaccination requirement for travelers . Details from a memo obtained by ESPN in September . San Francisco city officials removed religious and medical exemptions from their policy on Friday, emboldening the NBAs decision to deny an application from the Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins. NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said players who miss games due to vaccination status during the upcoming season will forfeit their paychecks. And while the WNBA announced in June 2021 that 99% of players were vaccinated against COVID-19, the NBA has had some recent public pushback from several stars, including Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins and Bradley Beal. 18, after Adams takes office. One by one, the basketball players non-vaccinated star here, fully-inoculated veteran on mute down there, a full-on anti-vaxxer front-and-center logged into the video conference. Andrew Wiggins: I feel like my only option was to get vaccinated or not play in the NBA.. NBA players who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer be allowed to play in Toronto as of Jan. 15, according to a league memo obtained by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski . , league sources think that Irving will indeed receive the vaccine, citing influence from teammate and close friend Kevin Durant. To me, it doesnt seem logically consistent. From NBA.com Staff. Similarly, the Golden State Warriors Andrew Wiggins will not be eligible for home games in San Francisco after telling reporters that. First, regarding the Canadian mandate, the Wizards have already played the Raptors twice on the road, first for the opener on Oct. 20 and the second on Dec. 5. In the big business of basketball, its almost expected for the superstars to skirt the rules. Did that annoy you? The renowned virologist Dr. David Ho, who has personally advised NBA commissioner Adam Silver on the virus since January 2020, credits the league office for providing a scientific Covid roadmap to businesses even by contributing its testing and monitoring data to forthcoming academic papers. They made their case to the union summit: There should be testing this year, of course, just not during off-days. You guys know me, anything I talk about, I don't talk about other people and what they should do. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time He said. Jordan Goodwin signs three-year deal with the Wizards. Im also concerned about how this perpetuates the stereotype of dumb jocks who are unable to look at verified scientific evidence and reach a rational conclusion.. Harden has personal reasons for wanting to return to Houston, among them his family is there and he is deeply entrenched with charities and businesses in the city. This May, James partied maskless with Drake, forcing the NBA to release, that neither confirmed nor denied the vaccination status of its preeminent megastar. Three things to Know: Can Lakers still make playoffs despite LeBrons injury? We have to be the mask police, says one courtside employee at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but were pretty strict with the fans. Nets GM Sean Marks says Brooklyn has decided Kyrie Irving may not practice or play with the group until he can be a full participant.. The latter figure will be a lagging one, in part because it is dependent on when ones most recent dose of the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer or Moderna vaccine was. There were 58 new confirmed positive tests among players and 50 new confirmed. Vaccines are one of the most important tools we have to control the spread and effect of COVID-19. The Grizzlies have not commented on the incident. If Philadelphia gets to the Eastern Conference Finals or NBA Finals, that may feel very different to him than a second-round exit (or, worse yet, a first-round upset). Morants attorney dismissed all the accusations as unsustainable gossip, noting that the teen had filed a lawsuit last September against Morant over the incident, and this was part of his effort. He already held the men's mark, eclipsing Roger Federer's old ATP standard of 310 weeks in March 2021. This May, James partied maskless with Drake, forcing the NBA to release an awkward statement that neither confirmed nor denied the vaccination status of its preeminent megastar. Just this week, ESPN reported that vaccinated NBA staffers are upset players arent facing the same vaccine requirements, citing concerns about health risks of being exposed to players who arent vaccinated against COVID-19. Kanter's current franchise, the Boston Celtics, had multiple players unvaccinated as of Thursday, he and a teammate say. And hes been calling out anti-vax celebrities like Nicki Minaj from Twitter to his new Substack. Hence, unvaccinated NBA players from the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors fall under this mandate. that secret societies are implanting vaccines in a plot to connect Black people to a master computer for a plan of Satan. This Moderna microchip misinformation campaign has spread across multiple NBA locker rooms and group chats, according to several of the dozen-plus current players, Hall-of-Famers, league executives, arena workers and virologists interviewed for this story over the past week. Youre not going to agree with someone on the same political issue, the same financial issue. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. This is why Beal has been able to play the Nets at Barclays Center while Kyrie Irving is essentially banned from the team. the idea of anti-vaxx players skipping home games to dodge the New York City ordinance or at least threatening to protest them, until the NBA changes its ways. UPDATE, Sept 27: Kyrie Irving was not present for the Brooklyn Nets pre-season media day at Barclays Center, where city law requires athletes to have at least one dose of Covid vaccination to participate in team activities. 1 in the professional tennis rankings by a man or woman, beginning his 378th week in the ATP's top spot on Monday to surpass Steffi Graf's 377 leading the WTA. Gambling problem? No player will be forced to undergo off-day testing, league sources confirmed, despite the NBA suggesting it in earlier guidance. His fellow official Marc Davis, though, insists that refs feel protected between their mandated masks, vaccines, rigorous testing and a little halftime hand-washing: Its safer to be on the court than it is in a bus station. One of last seasons highest-profile Covid scares involved Kyrie Irvings teammate, the Nets superstar Kevin Durant. The NBA says 97% of its players are vaccinated, and sources told ESPN that more than 60% have . But as teams return to pre-season training camps next week, fifty to sixty NBA players have yet to receive a single vaccine dose, league sources tell RS. Which NBA players have received the COVID-19 vaccine? General managers remain confident they can get superstars vaxxed by opening night. Novak Djokovic made history on Monday (27 February) by breaking Steffi Graf's record for most weeks as the World No 1. Socially-distanced travel is now suggested. Players who arent fully vaxxed and seek outside labs for regular testing must get league approval, but their tests will otherwise be supervised by their teams the kind of states-rights amalgam of governance preferred by players. Michael Porter Jr. signed a $207 million max extension in the offseason with the Denver Nuggets. 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