SAN DIEGO — Nets star Kyrie Irving’s refusal to adhere to local vaccine mandates has made headlines and has put him at risk of missing home games. His boss’ boss, Joe Tsai, has been as pro-vaccine as any owner in any sport.
The Post caught up with the Nets owner Thursday to ask just how worried he is that his All-Star point guard, one of his pricy Big 3, could be banned from playing at Barclays Center or even practicing at HSS Training Center if Irving doesn’t relent and get vaccinated.
“So Kyrie talks about it as a sort of personal choice issue, which I respect. But we all need to not forget that our goal,” Tsai told The Post. “What is our goal this year? What’s our purpose this year? It’s very, very clear: Win a championship. And the championship team needs to have everybody pulling the same direction.
“So I hope to see Kyrie play fully and win a championship together with everybody else, with all his teammates. That’s the best outcome for everybody.”
The NBA has already stated that Irving (or any other player) who misses games due to refusal to comply with local COVID-19 vaccine mandates in New York and San Francisco would also be docked game checks. In Irving’s case, that would be roughly $400,000 for any game he misses, hefty even for a man set to earn $34 million this season.
Irving is vice president on the executive committee of the players’ union, and the NBPA would surely fight to protect any docked game checks. Multiple sources are convinced Irving will eventually be swayed by people in the organization who he listens to.
Tsai has been vocally pro-vaccine, for obvious reasons, after living through the COVID-19 pandemic on two different continents.
The co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, he commuted at least once a month to Asia, living in Hong Kong and going to the company’s headquarters in Hangzhou. Not only have the Nets been hit hard by COVID-19 (Kevin Durant was among those who contracted it), but as owner of the New York Liberty, he’s seen guard Asia Durr still severely impacted by the aftereffects.
“Sure, so, this is a serious virus. It could be a deadly virus and it could also — if someone catches COVID — it could actually incapacitate them for a long period of time. We have one player, Asia Durr who is still suffering some issues, so we know how serious it is,” Tsai said. “We know everybody knows how serious it is, right? You don’t have to explain it to people. We also know that the vaccine is safe, and also extremely effective.
“I’m a total believer in having that in the fact that vaccine actually protects you from getting sick, getting real sick. Now the other thing is, I also believe that taking the vaccine is also a social good. It’s just part of social responsibility, because you’re not only protecting yourself, but you’re protecting other people.
“That’s my personal view, so that’s why we’re supporting vaccinations at Barclay Center. We advocate for getting vaccinated, because it truly will save lives, and it will truly protect other people. Don’t underestimate the social responsibility part of it. It’s not just about yourself, it’s about protecting the people around you. So that’s kind of my view of the vaccine.”