On Thursday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that he would be lifting the vaccine mandate for unvaccinated athletes and performers.
The ending of the mandate means that unvaccinated players for teams like the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, New York Yankees, and New York Mets, will be able to play in home games. The mandate only applied to players of NYC-based teams, so unvaccinated players for visiting teams were still able to play in NYC.
“This is about putting New York athletes on a level playing field,” Adams said during a news conference at Citi Field. “We were treating our performers differently because they live and play in New York City.”
The most high-profile case is of Nets star guard Kyrie Irving, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and has stated that he is “rooted” in his decision not to get the vaccine.
“It’s not going to be swayed just because of one thing in this NBA life,” Irving said after the Nets lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 17. “That somehow it’s brought to my attention as being more important than what’s going on in the real world. It’s just not happening for me.”
“Again, I respect everyone else’s decision, I’m not going to ever try to convince anyone of anything or any of that, I’m just standing rooted in what I believe in,” Irving added.
The Nets originally started the NBA season without Irving playing in any games because of his unvaccinated status. However, in early January, the team reversed course and allowed Irving to be a part-time player who only appears in road games.
A week ago, Adams implored Irving to get vaccinated, and he reiterated that message on Thursday.
“Kyrie, you should get vaccinated,” Adams said. “This does not change my message that everyone should get vaccinated.”
Adams was asked why he is only lifting the mandate for athletes and performers, but not teachers, police officers, firefighters, and stadium workers. Adams highlighted that former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s policy exempts athletes and performers who do not live in New York City. He also pointed to the economic impact of athletes.
“A small number of people have an outsized impact on our economy,” Adams said.
“By putting our home teams on an equal playing field we increase their chances of winning and that has a real impact on this city. It’s not just fans in the stands, it’s fans in the stores,” the Democrat added as he claimed that each home playoff game creates millions for the city’s economy. “These are real dollars and they play a major role.”
Adams did not rule out that he could reinstate the vaccine mandate for athletes if another outbreak occurs in New York City.
The Mayor’s decision to lift the mandate for athletes also appears as a reversal from statements he made earlier this week during a Tuesday news conference that professional sports teams would have to wait their turn to have vaccine mandates rolled back.
At that news conference, he announced that the mask mandates for toddlers in daycare between the ages of two and four would discontinue starting on April 4.
“Right now, we’re going to take some complaints,” Adams said on Tuesday. “But when this is all said and done, people are going to realize this is a thoughtful administration, and we got it right. So baseball, basketball, businesses, all of those things, they have to wait until that layer comes.”
When asked about his statements from Tuesday, Adams replied, “Two days is still a wait.”
The Mayor also said he wanted to remove the mandate for athletes and performers when he first took office. However, his medical team advised against it due to skyrocketing omicron infections.
Some criticized Adams’ decision to exempt athletes and performers but not other private-sector workers.
The city suspended about 1,500 public employees for refusing to get the vaccine against COVID-19, including public servants like firefighters and sanitation workers. Adams said Thursday he has no plans now to rehire them.
All employers in New York City are also mandated to ban unvaccinated workers from being in shared workplaces. Adams also said he has no plans to roll back this mandate or other private-sector mandates.
Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli called Adams’ decision “appalling.”
“We are firing our own employees, but allowing exemptions for the fancy ones,” he said. “What is the rationale for exempting basketball players from the city’s private sector vaccine mandate, but not the ushers or janitors in the arena? There must be a compelling public interest for subverting the equal application of our laws. What is it?”
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch echoed the same sentiments.
“We have been suing the city for months over its arbitrary and capricious vaccine mandate — this is exactly what we are talking about. If the mandate isn’t necessary for famous people, then it’s not necessary for the cops who are protecting our city in the middle of a crime crisis,” Lynch said.
“While celebrities were in lockdown, New York City police officers were on the street throughout the pandemic, working without adequate PPE and in many cases contracting and recovering from COVID themselves,” he added. “They don’t deserve to be treated like second-class citizens now.”