NBA player Kyrie Irving recently was not permitted to practice or participate in road games with the Brooklyn Nets because Irving refused to take the vaccine. Irving states that he will not get the COVID-19 vaccine, but he isn’t retiring; he is just doing what’s best for him.

NBA players must get the vaccine because there is still an ongoing pandemic, and there is no reason not to take the vaccine unless they are allergic to any of the ingredients on the vaccine. COVID-19 is still rampant in the U.S., Utah having an average of approx. One thousand five hundred positive cases each day. Many people state that COVID-19 is not a big deal and is similar to the flu, but that is simply not true.

NBA players are around many people and therefore carry a considerable risk if they are unvaccinated, or others around them are unvaccinated. People still need to be taking precautions, and the vaccine is the best and most effective option.

People might say that it doesn’t matter if they get vaccinated because those who get the vaccine are already protected and don’t need to worry, or that young people have a meager chance of dying. However, the reason people need to get vaccinated isn’t to protect every single person, and it’s to protect vulnerable people and keep COVID from continuing to spread in the future years to come. COVID has been proven to mutate and turn into worse variants. If it continues to the upcoming years, it can be a grave threat to everybody, and COVID is shown to give chronic side effects that affect everybody.

Kyrie Irving suggested that he was offered a vaccine exemption form. However, the law in New York requires workers to get vaccinated to work, and Irving was not allergic to the ingredients in the vaccine, so he was not allowed to play.

Kyrie Irving not permitted to play in the NBA was fair, New York requires it, and COVID is still a big issue.