Kyrie Irving: How the Nets are handling the Irving situation
Nets star Kyrie Irving has not played a game for his team since Jan. 5, and it appears the Nets could be without Irving for an extended period.
While away from the team for personal reasons, Irving was captured on video appearing to attend a birthday party while not wearing a mask. The league is investigating his behavior, and it could impose a lengthy quarantine period that would force Irving to miss more games, whenever he feels ready to return.
In the meantime, the media pressure on Irving and the Nets is mounting. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called for Irving to retire from basketball due to what Smith views as Irving’s apparent disinterest in playing.
What’s going on with the Nets, and where do we go from here? USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt recaps the situation:
Zillgitt: “Nets coach Steve Nash keeps telling reporters he wants to keep the matter private, but that’s getting harder to do the more games Irving misses, especially in light of a recent video on social media which appears to show Irving maskless and celebrating at a birthday party – which is prohibited according to the league’s health and safety protocol. Nets general manager Sean Marks released a statement saying the NBA was reviewing the video, and the league could impose an additional quarantine on Irving. Irving could forfeit money for games missed if the NBA finds he violated those COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
When asked if he was confident Irving would return this season, Nash said ‘sure,’ but then added that he’s not making any predictions.”
