New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio , a Democrat, asked Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving to get the COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, according to a public overture.
Irving, a seven-time National Basketball Association All-Star and NBA champion, wants to keep his vaccine status private, according to comments made over Zoom during the Nets’ media day.
“I’m a fan of Kyrie. I would just appeal to him — get vaccinated,” de Blasio said. “Your fans want to see you. We all want you back. Your teammates want you back. Look, there are teams now that are 100% vaccinated. That’s a great example to everybody else.”
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR WANTS MANDATED VACCINATIONS FOR ALL NBA PLAYERS
“All the questions kind of leading me into what’s happening, just please, everything will be released at a due date once we get this cleared up,” he said . “But, as of right now, just please respect my privacy regarding anything about home games, what’s happening, vaccination, please.”
NBA TO WITHHOLD PAY FOR UNVACCINATED PLAYERS WHO MISS GAMES DUE TO LOCAL MANDATES
The New York mayor made his plea to Irving during an appearance on CNN, but did not indicate whether he thought the NBA guard was letting down his fans.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“It’s not time to say that yet. We have weeks and weeks before the season begins,” he said. “I think his fans are going to say to him, ‘Come on, join us. Help us. Let’s keep everyone safe — keep your own family safe. Keep your teammates safe. Keep your community safe.'”