NBA star Kyrie Irving revealed he lost a $100 million contract over refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine as a member of the Brooklyn Nets.
Irving shared the remarks on Monday during a discussion with reporters.
Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving – Gave up 4-year, $100M-plus extension to be unvaccinated #integrity https://t.co/IYy4g78j3I
— Jamie Sale (@JamieSale) September 27, 2022
The comments
“I gave up four years, 100-and-something million deciding to be unvaccinated and that was the decision,” Irving said Monday.
“[Get this] contract, get vaccinated or be unvaccinated and there’s a level of uncertainty of your future, whether you’re going to be in this league, whether you’re going to be on this team, so I had to deal with that real-life circumstance of losing my job for this decision,” he added.
“I gave up 4 years, 100+ MILLION deciding to be unvaccinated and that was the decision.” —Kyrie Irving 🏀
pic.twitter.com/CZOWfatlGu— Kate (@KateTalksTruth) September 26, 2022
The controversy
“Because of the New York City mandate, Irving could only play road games—not home games—last season. And since he couldn’t play in home games, he could not be paid for them,” the Epoch Times reported.
“While Irving suggested that the Nets gave him an ultimatum about his vaccination status on getting a contract extension deal finished, the Nets said that no pressure was placed on the superstar guard,” it added.
“I gave up four years, 100-and-something million deciding to be unvaccinated.”@BrooklynNets guard @KyrieIrving revealed that he gave up a 4-year contract extension worth about $100 million because he refused to get a #COVID19 vaccine. https://t.co/0Qhrj3AeD9
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) September 28, 2022
The mandate has not ended, with Irving showing he’s still in great shape and doing well despite missing a large part of the past season.
The bold decision to remain unvaccinated led to much controversy in the league, especially after the city changed the rules that allowed unvaccinated fans but not players.
Irving could watch his team play, but could not play on the floor as his presence should the contradictory nature of the mandates.