Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via GettyBrooklyn Nets starKyrie Irvingis back with the team after he was prohibited from activities for his refusal to become vaccinated against COVID-19.Irving, who recently cleared health protocols, spoke to reporters on Wednesday ahead of his return and said he “understood” why the team kept him away the last few months.“I understood their decision [to sideline me] and I respected it,” Irving said, according toNew York Postreporter Brian Lewis. “I really had to sit back and try not to become too emotionally attached to what they were deciding to do. I had to sit down and really evaluate things and see it from their perspective.“The 29-year-old, who won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, said he “could barely sleep” the night before returning to the team for practice.“Last night I could barely sleep,” Irving said, per thePost. “I’m like, man, I just don’t want to come out and not be who I know I am as a player…[My] heart racing and just not being nervous and touching the basketball again, and just the rhythm of the game. I missed it.“Steven Ryan/Getty ImagesThe Nets ultimately decided to bring Irving back this month after they werehit with a COVID-19 outbreakthat left them short on players. However, he will not be allowed to play in home games at Barclays Center, due to New York City’s COVID-19 guidelines.The team, which currently holds a 23-9 record and is the top seed in the Eastern Conference, ultimately believed having Irving back, even if just for away games, was the right decision.“We believe that the addition of Kyrie will not only make us a better team but allow us to more optimally balance the physical demand on the entire roster,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in astatementearlier this month.Prior to the first game of the season in October, the Nets announced that Irvingwould not be permittedto play or practice in Brooklyn without being vaccinated. At the time, Marks said, “Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose.“RELATED VIDEO: Kyrie Irving Speaks Out on Vax Stance After Brooklyn Nets Announce He Won’t Play: ‘I’m Still Uncertain’Irving later went on Instagram to open up about his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which has killednearly 820,000 Americanssince the start of the pandemic.“I chose to be unvaccinated. And that was my choice,” he said on Instagram Live in October, despite the CDC’s recommendation that all eligible people receive the vaccine to protect against severe illness. “And I would ask y’all just to respect that choice.““It’s not about the Nets. It’s not about the organization,” Irving later said. “It’s not about the NBA. It’s not politics. It’s not any one thing that I’m pinpointing. It’s just about the freedom of what I want to do.“The Nets will play the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night in Brooklyn. The team’s next away game is scheduled for Jan. 5 against the Indiana Pacers.As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty
Brooklyn Nets starKyrie Irvingis back with the team after he was prohibited from activities for his refusal to become vaccinated against COVID-19.Irving, who recently cleared health protocols, spoke to reporters on Wednesday ahead of his return and said he “understood” why the team kept him away the last few months.“I understood their decision [to sideline me] and I respected it,” Irving said, according toNew York Postreporter Brian Lewis. “I really had to sit back and try not to become too emotionally attached to what they were deciding to do. I had to sit down and really evaluate things and see it from their perspective.“The 29-year-old, who won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, said he “could barely sleep” the night before returning to the team for practice.“Last night I could barely sleep,” Irving said, per thePost. “I’m like, man, I just don’t want to come out and not be who I know I am as a player…[My] heart racing and just not being nervous and touching the basketball again, and just the rhythm of the game. I missed it.“Steven Ryan/Getty ImagesThe Nets ultimately decided to bring Irving back this month after they werehit with a COVID-19 outbreakthat left them short on players. However, he will not be allowed to play in home games at Barclays Center, due to New York City’s COVID-19 guidelines.The team, which currently holds a 23-9 record and is the top seed in the Eastern Conference, ultimately believed having Irving back, even if just for away games, was the right decision.“We believe that the addition of Kyrie will not only make us a better team but allow us to more optimally balance the physical demand on the entire roster,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in astatementearlier this month.Prior to the first game of the season in October, the Nets announced that Irvingwould not be permittedto play or practice in Brooklyn without being vaccinated. At the time, Marks said, “Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose.“RELATED VIDEO: Kyrie Irving Speaks Out on Vax Stance After Brooklyn Nets Announce He Won’t Play: ‘I’m Still Uncertain’Irving later went on Instagram to open up about his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which has killednearly 820,000 Americanssince the start of the pandemic.“I chose to be unvaccinated. And that was my choice,” he said on Instagram Live in October, despite the CDC’s recommendation that all eligible people receive the vaccine to protect against severe illness. “And I would ask y’all just to respect that choice.““It’s not about the Nets. It’s not about the organization,” Irving later said. “It’s not about the NBA. It’s not politics. It’s not any one thing that I’m pinpointing. It’s just about the freedom of what I want to do.“The Nets will play the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night in Brooklyn. The team’s next away game is scheduled for Jan. 5 against the Indiana Pacers.As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
Brooklyn Nets starKyrie Irvingis back with the team after he was prohibited from activities for his refusal to become vaccinated against COVID-19.
Irving, who recently cleared health protocols, spoke to reporters on Wednesday ahead of his return and said he “understood” why the team kept him away the last few months.
“I understood their decision [to sideline me] and I respected it,” Irving said, according toNew York Postreporter Brian Lewis. “I really had to sit back and try not to become too emotionally attached to what they were deciding to do. I had to sit down and really evaluate things and see it from their perspective.”
The 29-year-old, who won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, said he “could barely sleep” the night before returning to the team for practice.
“Last night I could barely sleep,” Irving said, per thePost. “I’m like, man, I just don’t want to come out and not be who I know I am as a player…[My] heart racing and just not being nervous and touching the basketball again, and just the rhythm of the game. I missed it.”
Steven Ryan/Getty Images
The Nets ultimately decided to bring Irving back this month after they werehit with a COVID-19 outbreakthat left them short on players. However, he will not be allowed to play in home games at Barclays Center, due to New York City’s COVID-19 guidelines.
The team, which currently holds a 23-9 record and is the top seed in the Eastern Conference, ultimately believed having Irving back, even if just for away games, was the right decision.
“We believe that the addition of Kyrie will not only make us a better team but allow us to more optimally balance the physical demand on the entire roster,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in astatementearlier this month.
Prior to the first game of the season in October, the Nets announced that Irvingwould not be permittedto play or practice in Brooklyn without being vaccinated. At the time, Marks said, “Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose.”
RELATED VIDEO: Kyrie Irving Speaks Out on Vax Stance After Brooklyn Nets Announce He Won’t Play: ‘I’m Still Uncertain’
Irving later went on Instagram to open up about his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which has killednearly 820,000 Americanssince the start of the pandemic.
“I chose to be unvaccinated. And that was my choice,” he said on Instagram Live in October, despite the CDC’s recommendation that all eligible people receive the vaccine to protect against severe illness. “And I would ask y’all just to respect that choice.”
“It’s not about the Nets. It’s not about the organization,” Irving later said. “It’s not about the NBA. It’s not politics. It’s not any one thing that I’m pinpointing. It’s just about the freedom of what I want to do.”
The Nets will play the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night in Brooklyn. The team’s next away game is scheduled for Jan. 5 against the Indiana Pacers.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
