In unsurprising reversal, Mayor Adams to end mandate keeping Nets' Irving and unvaxxed Mets/Yankees from playing

It was, to be sure, predictable. 

Mayor Eric Adams, the former Brooklyn Borough President and unabashed cheerleader for post-COVID recovery, was not going to let the Brooklyn Nets enter--or, it turns out, approach--the playoffs without star guard Kyrie Irving, who's remained stubbornly unvaccinated and, ultimately triumphant.

As disclosed yesterday by Politico, and with a press conference later this morning at CitiField, Adams will announce "reverse the private-sector vaccine mandate specifically for performers and athletes in local venues, including Barclays Center — home to the Brooklyn Nets — and both Citi Field in Queens and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx."

Is there political influence at work? To quote Politico:

Among those lobbying City Hall on behalf of the Nets are The Parkside Group and former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, according to public record. The Mets is owned by Steve Cohen, who donated $1.5 million to a political action committee backing Adams in the Democratic primary last year. Johnson advised Adams’ mayoral transition.

On the one hand, it's inconsistent to allow out-of-town athletes to compete unvaccinated or--since another recent Adams policy change--the unvaccinated, unmasked Irving to watch the game but not play.

On the other hand, Jay Varma, who advised former Mayor Bill de Blasio, tweeted, "This mandate has always been about NYC employers. It had legal standing because applied to all. The #KyrieCarveOut opens City up to entire scheme being voided by courts as 'arbitrary and capricious.'" 

Despite his phrasing--which also made a New York Times headline--Varma agreed that this was more the influence of the baseball teams.

That said, there's, at minimum, a difference between employees who work outside (like baseball players) and those working inside. Or, if it's about sending a message to employees, Varma's point is that city employees who were fired for not getting vaxxed might now have a case. 

A dangerous opponent

As noted by NetsDaily, Irving can now play in the rest of the team's home games, giving the Nets, at least, a "big 2," with Kevin Durant, and possibly adding ex-Philadelphia 76er Ben Simmons, the key player in the trade for Nets star James Harden, by playoff time.

That makes the Nets, who are still struggling for a playoff spot, a dangerous opponent, especially if they get other injured players back. And it puts a new gloss on Harden's effort to engineer his exit, based in part on his disgruntlement about Irving's status.

That said, even with Irving and Durant, the Nets were unable last night to beat the surging Memphis Grizzlies, who were playing without star Ja Morant.

Update: Adams cites "morale"

The mayor says it's about our morale, since New York teams are at a competitive disadvantage, given that visiting teams can field unvaccinated players, and that disadvantages the teams' success, "which is important to the City's economic recovery and the morale of City residents and visitors...."

Need to do a double blind study where one group gets the Covid vaccine and the other group has their sports team win a championship and see which group has better outcomes. https://t.co/UlKQvwXeZj

— 🧅🥯 (@NationalsLiker) March 24, 2022