When the NBA made the vaccine compulsory to play this season, many speculated what Kyrie Irving would do. And when he came out to say he won’t take it despite being unable to play, he shook the league. And a former teammate of LeBron James explains how the league looked at Irving’s decision.
Iman Shumpert was part of the Cleveland Cavaliers which ended the city’s 50-year curse. And he was also a teammate of Kyrie Irving during his time with the Cavs.
Kyrie made it clear before the start of the season, that he won’t take the vaccine. And according to the city mandates, he was not allowed to play home games. And after careful consideration, the Brooklyn Nets said that Kyrie would not be allowed to join the team on the away games as well.
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Many expected Kyrie to just bulk to the pressure and take the vaccine. But he did stood by his belief.
LeBron James’ ex-teammate says Kyrie Irving didn’t care about money
Shumpert was asked what he thought about Kyrie’s stance. He said, “He let his nuts hanging. Bro, I’m not taking it and you can’t fault him… This sh-t is really about the decision. That scares people so much that Kyrie said under no circumstance am I gonna take that vaccine.
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“But everybody was like, yeah, as soon as they tell him they ain’t gonna pay him that money, he gonna do it. And then was like, we taking some of your checks, he was like okay cool. And they was like what? They was like, you can’t play, ain’t at home, he was like okay cool”
Kyrie said multiple times that he won’t take the vaccine and he didn’t move from his stance. He lost multiple paychecks, and he was ready to sit out the season if necessary. It was the Nets who called him back and allowed him to play the away games.
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And as the mandate eased, he was allowed to play in Brooklyn as well. Despite getting all the stick in the world for the disappointing season for the Nets, Kyrie never changed his stance.