Kyrie Irving finally played in his first home game this season.
After Brooklyn’s loss to the Hornets on Sunday, the unvaccinated point guard explained why he chose to miss the team’s first 35 home games rather than getting the COVID-19 vaccine, saying that he was “standing for freedom.”
“The point of this season for me was never to just take a stand,” Irving said. “It was really to make sure that I’m standing on what I believe in, in freedom. Freedom. I don’t think that’s a word that gets defined enough in our society.
“About the freedom to make choices with your life without someone telling you what the f*** to do. And whether that carries over into nuances of our society that politicians control or government control or powers that be they control.”
Irving missed the Nets’ first 35 home games due to New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine policies. New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently lifted the mandate for Irving as well as Yankees and Mets players.
Kyrie Irving on his legacy:
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) March 28, 2022
“Freedom. It’s about the freedom to make choices with your life without someone telling you what the f—k to do. I have such a strong moral code of being honest.” pic.twitter.com/U8AWJYDWQk
Irving, who is playing at arguably the best level in his career despite missing significant time, has never given a definitive reason why he is unvaccinated, and he didn’t on Sunday during his long answer.
“I’m standing for freedom, so that’s in all facets of my life,” Irving said. “There’s nobody that’s enslaving me, there’s nobody that’s telling me what I’m going to do with my life, and that’s just the way I am.
“If I get tarnished in terms of my image and people try to slander my name continuously, those aren’t things that I forget. I haven’t forgotten anything that anybody said. I don’t read everything, but I definitely read some things that put my family’s name in a certain position that I believe are unfair.”
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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