Without Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets did not have enough to best Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks squad on Friday night.
Kyrie’s absence has been a recurring topic of conversation this season, and Antetokounmpo gave his thoughts on the whole situation after his team came out with the victory.
“When it comes to basketball, I feel like I can talk to them. When it comes to a personal decision like that, it’s… I’ve got to let them make their decision. They’re grown men. You know, and every situation is different. I cannot pressure somebody to do something that he doesn’t feel comfortable doing. I can tell you why I did it. Why I felt comfortable doing it. To protect my family, to protect my mom and stuff, stay safe, and you just hope he understands that. But if he doesn’t want to do it then I can’t keep pressuring him. I’ve got o focus on myself and come every day and do my job because that’s what I get paid to do. I don’t know what relationship they have. They probably have talked to him but they cannot keep on pressuring him to do something he doesn’t feel comfortable doing because it takes so much energy and takes away from basketball. That’s why we’re here.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo gave a very long, thoughtful answer when asked about what he’d try to do if he was in the position the Nets are in with Kyrie Irving: pic.twitter.com/fcsJW4sZuL
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 8, 2022
Kyrie’s part-time status stems from his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine. For whatever reason, the Nets guard has decided to remain unvaccinated, which has disqualified him from playing in Nets home games this season.
Over the past few months, heavy criticism has followed Irving for essentially abandoning his team.
Even though he’s back as a part-time player, there are still those who want him to get vaccinated so he could play in all games. Kevin Durant, unsurprisingly, is unwilling to try and convince him of anything.
“I’ve told him how much I want him to play. But like I said, I’m not about to force somebody to get a vaccine,” said Kevin Durant. “That’s not my thing. So he can play basketball? Nah, I’m not about to do that. We’ve had conversations about wanting him to be a part of the team and conversations about him being here full-time but that’s on his time. Whatever decision he wants to make, he’s gonna make. It’s on us to come in here and be professionals no matter what and do our jobs, from the owner to the equipment manager.”
Needless to say, the whole situation is controversial. On one hand, Kyrie is an adult who has the right to make his own decisions. If he doesn’t feel safe getting the vaccine, nobody can force him.
On the other hand, he’s letting his teammates, and the fans, down by not making himself available.
Hopefully, a solution gets reached and Kyrie is able to play in Brooklyn. For now, the Nets will continue to suffer during the games he misses.
