Kyrie Irving believes he is fighting for something bigger than basketball — and the unintended consequences are that his mission is conflicting with his career and his franchise, the Brooklyn Nets.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Kyrie Irving’s stance via anonymous sources. Here is what they had to say.
“Irving is not anti-vaccine and that his stance is that he is upset that people are losing their jobs due to vaccine mandates. It’s a stance that Irving has explained to close teammates. To him, this is about a grander fight than the one on the court and Irving is challenging a perceived control of society and people’s livelihood, according to sources with knowledge of Irving’s mindset. It is a decision that he believes he is capable to make given his current life dynamics.”
“Kyrie wants to be a voice for the voiceless,” one source said.
Haha, the man who wants to be the voice of the voiceless, got the message out via an anonymous source. Wouldn’t that make Irving the voiceless?
I’m not here demand one to get vaccinated, its not my place despite how obvious it is to get vaccinated. So rather I’ll just stick to the facts.
The nation’s top doctors and science have cleared the vaccine as safe and effective. The Center for Disease Control (CDC), American Medical Association (AMA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) state clearly that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at helping protect against severe disease and death, including from variants of the virus, while also being safe. In fact, multiple studies showed that 99 percent of people who are in intensive care units in hospitals are unvaccinated. Sources say 96 percent of NBA players are currently vaccinated. More than 3.75 billion people worldwide have received a vaccine dose. To be clear, Irving’s stance is not believed to be anti-science, according to sources.
But by remaining silent, he is allowing those who are anti-vaxxxers, anti-science, and right wing conservatives, to hijack his mission. When the likes of Donald Trump Jr., Ted Cruz, and Candace Owens are in your corner on an issue, maybe take a step back and address the situation you built for yourself.
Kyrie look at your tribe https://t.co/YfxowunI6W
— Van Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) October 12, 2021
If I’m Kyrie, I’m immediately getting vaccinated and returning to work after seeing this show of “support.” https://t.co/3vftA1Gqts
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 12, 2021
This whole article will come off as me being the guy who hates on Kyrie and every move he makes, but trust me I’m not.
In December 2020, I discussed how Irving is an amazing humanitarian but allows it to be overshadowed by nonsense like this, like the flat earth stuff, and calling the media pawns.
But like in all previous stances Irving has taken, including positive ones of supporting the WNBA, paying college tuitions, marching for social justice, he continues to leave the masses out of the loop. A simple press conference or Instagram live session in the comfort of his own room with sage burning, to clarify his stance and reasoning for not being vaccinated would do him wonders.
It wouldn’t save the issue of Irving not being a member of the Nets until he is vaccinated, or the fact that he is once again going against the grain because he is just that guy. But it would make people understand. A simple vocal expression of his thoughts and feelings on the situation at hand, basketball aside would show that he does want to be the voice of the voiceless.
You want to speak for those nurses, teachers, doctors, police officers who lost their jobs due to the vaccine mandate?
Then SPEAK for them.
But right now? Refusing to make a public statement, hiding behind sources and the comfort of isolation, the narratives will be hijacked. People who are anti-vaxxers, and those of who make this a political tug of war, will continue to use Irving as their symbol, their face of their movement. You can’t have that happen, you just can’t. Unless you share the beliefs of those groups, which I don’t believe is true of Irving.
Until Irving verbalizes his stance, I have no reason to think of Irving, and neither will anyone else especially since he will be out of the limelight that the NBA offers.
