NBA at an impasse with some players over COVID-19 vaccine ahead of new season
CBC
With some NBA players unvaccinated against COVID-19, the looming season start may see star players absent due to city-enforced restrictions.
On Monday, Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving tuned into his team's media day virtually instead of in person and asked for privacy on his vaccination status. New York requires athletes playing in the city to get the shot.
Meanwhile, Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins also fielded questions following an attempt at obtaining a vaccination exemption, citing religious reasons, which was shot down by the league. The Thornhill, Ont., native said he intended to "keep fighting for what I believe is right."
On the latest episode of CBC Sports video series Bring It In, Morgan Campbell is joined by Meghan McPeak and Corey Erdman to discuss how the vaccination status of certain NBA players could affect their teams ahead of the new campaign.
Should Wiggins remain unvaccinated, he'll be unable to play in home games due to an order from the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The same goes for Irving, who without the vaccine would miss at least 41 home games.
WATCH l Dissecting the NBA's vaccine problem:
Though ideally Irving would be on the court, McPeak points out that the team returns to waters that they've been in before — a lineup where the "Big Three" are never quite assembled — meaning a familiar position for head coach Steve Nash and Irving's teammates.
