Unvaccinated NBA players will forfeit salary for missed games: Holdouts like Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving and Golden State's Andrew Wiggins risk roughly $16 million each due to local mandates in New York and San Francisco
Unvaccinated NBA players will forfeit game checks if they're prohibited from playing in New York and San Francisco due to local mandates, the league announced Wednesday.
'Any player who elects not to comply with local vaccination mandates will not be paid for games that he misses,' read a statement from NBA spokesman Mike Bass on Wednesday.
Mandatory vaccinations for players has been a non-starter with the players' union, leading the league to institute strict protocols for unvaccinated players.
Local mandates supercede the NBA, however, meaning players in New York and San Francisco will have to sit out home games if they remain unvaccinated. That could be a major concern for the Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving, who is reportedly unvaccinated but has refused to confirm this, and the Golden State Warriors' Andrew Wiggins, who has stated that he is not vaccinated.
Irving and Wiggins could forfeit roughly half of their respective $35 million and $31 million salaries.
'It's my problem, not yours,' Wiggins told reporters Tuesday.
The roughly 10 percent of NBA players who remain unvaccinated will need to comply with the same rigorous protocol they faced last season and could miss some games due to local mandates, while those who have received the injection can avoid daily testing, distancing, and other requirements. Another complicating factor is local health mandates in New York City and California, where the Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving (left) and the Golden State Warriors' Andrew Wiggins could miss home games - and potentially a significant amount of salary - if they remain unvaccinated. Wiggins is among several NBA stars who have publicly revealed they are not vaccinated, including Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (right). But unlike Beal, Wiggins faces the prospect of missing home games if hey remains unvaccinated
Unvaccinated NBA players will face daily testing and other rigorous protocols this season, while their vaccinated counterparts will enjoy much fewer requirements, according to a league memo sent to teams and obtained by DailyMail.com
Nearly 90 percent of the league's players are vaccinated, and they will only be tested if they show symptoms or are a close contact of a positive case. Meanwhile, unvaccinated players will have to undergo daily testing prior to entering a team facility, participating in team-organized activities, or interacting with other players and coaches.
Among the other restrictions, unvaccinated players will not be allowed to dine in the same room as other players, and must be given a locker as distant as possible from other players.
The situation, which mirrors the NFL's, could prove problematic for a league that has already endured the pandemic for two seasons. Many vaccinated players, including the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, have refused to call for any requirement, and the players' union has rejected the league's proposed mandate.
Other unvaccinated NBA stars include Washington Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal and Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic.
Vaccination is not mandatory but 90 percent of players already are, NBA Players Association executive director Michele Roberts (pictured) told Yahoo Sports in July.
Irving has refused to discuss his vaccination status, but Fox Sports has reported that he has not received the injection. He spoke to reporters remotely and was not physically present at this week's media day in Brooklyn, where health guidelines require attendees at indoor events to have at least one dose of the vaccine.
Despite those indications, Irving told reporters he's looking forward to playing in front of Nets fans this season, seemingly keeping the door open to the possibility of getting the vaccine
'Obviously, I'm not able to be present there today but that doesn't mean I'm putting any limits on the future of me being able to join the team,' Irving told reporters during a video press conference.
In response, New York mayor and Brooklyn native Bill de Blasio pleaded with Irving to get vaccinated during a CNN appearance on Wednesday.
'I'm a fan of Kyrie,' he told CNN. 'I would just appeal to him – get vaccinated. Your fans want to see you. We all want you back. Your teammates want you back. Look, there are teams now that are 100 percent vaccinated. That's a great example to everybody else.'
Vaccination is not mandatory but 90 percent of players already are, according to NBA Players Association (NBPA) executive director Michele Roberts. NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and others have called on the NBA to require players to get the vaccine, but the NBPA has refused.
As for the upcoming season, unvaccinated players are being asked to remain at their residence or the team hotel during road trips, and they're also told to limit outdoor activities to essentials, like taking their children to school.
Furthermore, they will have to quarantine for seven days if they are found to be in close contact with an infected person, while vaccinated players will only have to do so in 'unusual circumstances'.
