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Irving was ruled ineligible to play at home due to a New York
City mandate requiring proof of vaccine to enter large indoor
spaces and the Nets previously said the guard would not play or
practice with the team until he could be a full participant.
"We arrived at this decision with the full support of our
players and after careful consideration of our current
circumstances, including players missing games due to injuries
and health and safety protocols," General Manager Sean Marks
said in a written statement Friday, citing a need to balance the
"physical demand" on the roster.
The 29 year old, who averaged 26.9 points per game last season
and joined Brooklyn in 2019, told ESPN in October that he was
"being true to what feels good" by choosing not to get the
vaccine.
The Nets are currently first in the Eastern Conference with a
21-8 record after a four-game winning streak.
The team's announcement comes as major sports scramble to
contain COVID-19 outbreaks and the highly contagious Omicron
variant threatens to intensify across North America.
NBA rolled out tighter COVID-19 protocols amid a sudden wave of
COVID-19 cases and, according to a memo seen by Reuters on
Friday, will increase testing from Dec. 26-Jan.8 and return to
mask usage in many situations until agreed otherwise by the
league and union representing its players.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Michael Perry)
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