Kyrie Irving Asks For People To 'Respect His Privacy' When Pressed On His Vaccine Stance

Kyrie Irving is remaining coy about his COVID-19 vaccination status - a move which could ultimately impact his playing situation with the Brooklyn Nets.

The seven-time All-Star was absent from the Nets' media day, instead opting to attend via Zoom from a different room inside the Barclays Center.

Kyrie Irving. Credit PA

When Irving was asked by reporters about his current vaccination status, he refused to dish out much information and wouldn't confirm whether he had received the jab or at least intended to get one.

Under current NBA regulations in the state of New York, if Irving remains unvaccinated - which people are assuming he is - then he could be would be forced to sit out of Brooklyn's home games.

"There's just a lot of questions about what's going on in the world of Kyrie and I think I'd love to just keep that private and handle it the right way with my team and go forward together with a plan," Irving told the media.

"So obviously I'm not able to be present there today, but that doesn't mean that I'm putting any limits on the future of me being able to join the team."

When asked by a reporter whether he's expecting to play in home games this season, Kyrie politely declined to answer before asking people to move on and "respect his privacy".

"Again, I would like to keep all that private," he said.

"Please just respect my privacy.

"With all the questions leading in to what's happening, please, everything will be released at a due date once we get this cleared up. As of right now, please respect my privacy."

In response to Irving's vaccine stance, some people have called for him to be traded from the Nets - ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith being one of them.

During the media day in Brooklyn, others Nets players were also asked about the situation involving star man Irving.

"It's on Kyrie and that's his personal decision," Kevin Durant said.

"What he does is not on us to speculate what may happen, but we trust in Kyrie. I expect us to have our whole team at some point."

The star-studded Nets squad, who boast perhaps the most threatening team on paper in the league, will be hoping to deliver the franchise its first ever NBA championship this season.

And with the likes of James Harden, Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills, Joe Harris, Blake Griffin and - of course - Kyrie Irving at their disposal, they stand in good stead of knocking the Milwaukee Bucks off their perch.

Topics: Kyrie Irving, Basketball, Brooklyn Nets, NBA, vaccine, Australia, vaccination

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry