Kyrie Irving made an appearance at Nets' Media Day, but it was via Zoom and not in person since he still remains unvaccinated.
Brooklyn's floor general insisted that he wanted to make things a private matter, and asked the media and fans to respect his privacy.
Irving declined to comment on his vaccination status or availability for home games and practices in Brooklyn this upcoming season.
"I’m not able to be present there today, but that doesn't mean that I'm putting any limits on the future of me being able to join the team"
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 27, 2021
Kyrie speaks on his vaccination status at Nets media day pic.twitter.com/qsMWhFgNgX
The Nets' point guard indicated that he didn't want to serve as a distraction to the team, but the fact that his vaccination status has been the main storyline of the day and not the team chasing a title is evidence enough that it is indeed a distraction.
Reading between the lines, it's clear that Irving is still unvaccinated, but he's also the vice president of the NBA's Player Association with significant klout and influence over matters related to the league.
The NBAPA has declined a proposed league mandate on vaccines while New York City and San Francisco vaccine mandates supersede anything the league has in place.
From the sound of it, it appears Irving is willing to sit out home games and remain unvaccinated, but he's clearly fighting behind the scenes to revise eligibility for unvaccinated players.
Even NBA commissioner Adam Silver can't influence lawmakers in both cities to reverse course or amend the mandate, so it appears both sides are dug in and at this point Irving's availability will be a major distraction throughout the season, at least until a resolution is put in place.
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