LeBron James, Kevin Durant Slam New York City Over Confusing Kyrie Irving Situation: 'Absolutely Zero Sense'

Kyrie Irving was still not allowed to play in the Brooklyn Nets home game on Sunday due to New York City's vaccine mandates, and LeBron James and Kevin Durant reacted.

Irving, who arrived unmasked to take his courtside seat, watched his Brooklyn Nets teammates beat the New York Knicks at NYC's Barclays Center.

He watched from the stands in street clothes while Kevin Durant scored 53 points in the 110-107 victory. Durant scored the Nets' final seven points, including a 3-pointer with 56.3 seconds left to give Brooklyn a 106-103 lead.

In the latest episode of this season-long saga, Irving has been cleared to attend home games despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19. But while he could enter the Barclays Center, he was still not permitted to play, causing much confusion, both inside and outside the franchise, CBS News reported.

Lakers star LeBron James, Irving's former teammate in Cleveland, weighed in Sunday and tweeted, "FACTS FACTS FACTS!! It literally makes ABSOLUTELY ZERO SENSE!!! They say if common sense was common then we'd all have it. Ain't that the truth."

If Kyrie Irving is Allowed in the Building, Why is he Not Allowed to Play?

On March 7, Mayor Eric Adams has relaxed New York City's public sector vaccine and mask mandates, allowing unvaccinated persons like Kyrie Irving to enter public spaces such as clubs, gyms, and large venues like Barclays Center.

However, Adams announced that a private sector vaccine mandate which has been in place in the city since December 27, will remain in place, Yahoo! News reported. That means that you still must be vaccinated to show up to work if you work for a New York-based business.

So Irving is free to visit Barclays Center on his own time, but he cannot be there as an employee suiting up for the Brooklyn Nets. It may seem odd that Irving can be inside Barclays Center without a mask on, sit courtside and hang around with his teammates in the locker room, but not play.

Irving and the Nets appeared to be attempting to make this point by having him appear on national television, and from a pure safety perspective, they seemed to be right.

After the game, Kevin Durant commented about Irving's situation and told reporters that people did not understand and were confused about what was going on early in the season, "but now, it just looks stupid."

Durant also sent a message to the NYC Mayor and said: "Eric, you gotta figure this out."

On the other hand, Adams has shown no interest in creating a loophole to allow Irving to play, and he has no intention of lifting the restrictions for the entire city only to placate one individual. While speaking to media Sunday, Adams was heckled by a fan about Irving's situation.

"Listen, you're right. Kyrie can play tomorrow. Get vaccinated," Adams noted.

Kyrie Irving Unable to Play in Brooklyn Nets' Final Games

Heading into Sunday's game, the Brooklyn Nets had a 34-33 record and were in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Brooklyn defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in arguably their greatest game of the season on Thursday, with Kyrie Irving in the lineup.

However, Irving will be unable to participate in 11 of the Nets' last 15 regular-season games, including Sunday's game against the Knicks, due to current vaccine rules and if he continues to refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

It's a major concern for a team fighting for a playoff positioning as 10 of the 15 games will be played at home, with one of the road games taking place at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks.

On top of that, the Brooklyn Nets would face the No. 7 seed Toronto Raptors in the play-in tournament if the season concluded this Sunday night. Because of the vaccine mandate in Canada, Irving would also be unable to participate in any of those games.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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