Irving could not participate in the Nets home game because of the vaccine, there was a new development, this time NBA Chairman Xiao Hua personally came forward to fight for Irving.
As the helmsman of the NBA, Xiao Hua of course will not oppose the vaccine, the NBA has experienced the heavy blow of the epidemic shutdown, the importance of the vaccine is self-evident, but also conducive to establishing a good public image of the league respecting science, so Xiao Hua revealed in an interview that the NBA originally planned to implement a mandatory vaccine order, but failed to pass it in the players' union, nevertheless, 97% to 98% of the NBA players have been vaccinated, and the vast majority of them have also been injected.
"I personally think people should get vaccinated and booster shots." Xiao Hua said.
If this is the case, why is Xiao Hua standing for Owen again? The chairman of the coalition explained that he did not believe that New York's vaccine regulations were reasonable.
"It seems strange to me that this regulation in New York only applies to local players," Xiao Hua said, "if this regulation is to protect people who enter the venue, unvaccinated away players can play at the Barclays Center (home of the Nets), but the home team players can't, that doesn't make sense." ”
Owen's matter is actually quite easy to solve, he has been vaccinated, everyone is happy, but Owen is not, in his opinion, the problem is in the New York municipality.
"I don't feel guilty because I played in New York to face a situation where I would be different if I had been in another city." Owen said.
Irving's case, from different perspectives, can be interpreted differently. As far as basketball is concerned, Irving's approach is obviously inappropriate, and one person has disrupted a team, which is the fuse for Harden's departure, and Xiao Hua is very dissatisfied with this.
"Players who are still under contract actively seek transfers, which is not the same as changing teams for free agents whose contracts expire, which is not good for the league." Xiao Hua said.
However, if you consider the black history of the Vaccine in the United States, the black movement, the divided state of the US government in epidemic prevention, the difference of opinion of the American public on the vaccine, Irving's refusal to vaccinate has his reasons, and there is no lack of supporters, such as Irving's mother's hometown father and elder, many Native Americans support Irving in a way that does not vaccinate, and they give the reason that they "do not believe that the Vaccine in the United States works."
Because of this, Irving's non-vaccination, whether it is the Nets or the NBA official, at least in public remarks to Owen is very polite, repeatedly expressed respect for Irving's choice, they do not want to "step on the thunder", step into the whirlpool of public opinion, it is better to look for the flaws in New York regulations, and strive to achieve change.
"Obviously, we want that [New York to change the vaccine statute], but it's really not something we can control." Nets head coach Nash said.
After the league's official and Nets statements, the pressure was on the side of the New York city, and the new mayor of New York, Eric Adams, responded.
"First of all, I think this ordinance is unfair, athletes in other cities can still compete here without vaccination, but new York has to be vaccinated, I don't know if it's a Boston fan who has made this regulation." I don't want to pass on the wrong message, though, even though I'm struggling. ”
Adams's reply can be described as watertight, first of all, to understand the NBA's complaints, and at the same time to show that this regulation was not introduced by him when he was in office, it is the matter of the previous mayor (the last mayor is a fan of the Boston Red Sox), but even so, whether it will change or not, at least it has not changed at present, because the regulations of a city cannot be changed because of one person, otherwise where is the credibility of the government?
Adams did not promise change, but there was no outright veto of the possibility. The reason why the NBA is now putting pressure on the city of New York is because the situation of the United States to fight the epidemic has changed greatly, for example, the capital Washington, D.C., recently announced that it will cancel the requirement for individuals to enter and leave the enterprise to show vaccination certificates, and no longer require masks to wear masks in all indoor public places, on the grounds that the spread of the new crown virus in the area has shown a downward trend.
Dropped? It should be known that the number of confirmed cases of new crown in the United States has exceeded 78 million, and the cumulative number of deaths is close to 930,000, and in the past 24 hours alone, 152352 new confirmed cases have been confirmed, and 3997 new deaths have been added. Just ten days ago, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., rang its bell 900 times in memory of 900,000 Americans who died from the epidemic, and the U.S. medical institution predicted that by April, the total number of deaths would reach 1 million.
The epidemic in the United States is still shocking, but it is strange that all parts of the United States are trying to create a scene of improvement in the epidemic, and states have reduced their epidemic prevention efforts to varying degrees, and 28 states have canceled the basic requirement of wearing masks in public places, and even like Texas where the rocket is located, the state government has also ordered that students in school are not allowed to wear masks, although the student group is relatively susceptible to infection.
The reason for this is that the U.S. government is now less than 200,000 new cases per day, a decline from the peak, and some medical experts have also said that the United States is getting rid of the stage of the pandemic and moving toward a more "balanced" state, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering revising the epidemic prevention guidelines.
Less than 200,000 new confirmed cases per day is alleviated? How can this be explained by the fact that the number of new deaths per day is still above 2,500, and the number of deaths in 26 states has been on the rise in the past few weeks?
The fundamental reason why the United States, which has world-class medical conditions, is so bad at fighting the epidemic is that they have not been able to form a unified, effective, and sustainable plan from beginning to end, but instead they have ripped each other apart and used the fight against the epidemic as a political tool.
The direct cause of the changes in the anti-epidemic regulations in the UNITED States today is the arrival of the midterm elections, eagerly creating an illusion that the epidemic has receded and thriving, and does not hesitate to change its epidemic prevention stance, such as the Democratic Party, which has always shown a positive attitude towards epidemic prevention, and canceled regulations such as wearing masks in public places such as schools on the grounds that the epidemic has shown signs of improvement in the ruling state of the party.
New York Mayor Adams is a Democrat.
The NBA and the Nets are now taking a stand, first, because they have seen that the US anti-epidemic policy has changed due to the political struggle between parties, and second, they really can't delay any longer in time.
With the All-Star Weekend approaching, the Nets have only 23 regular season games left after the All-Star end, 10 of which are away, and these 10 games Irving can't play all of them even if they are in good health, because two of the games are against the Raptors and the Knicks, Toronto restricts unvaccinated players, home and away teams, and the Knicks are New York teams like the Nets.
That is to say, if New York does not change the vaccine law, Irving will play 8 regular season games after All-Star Weekend, the Nets will experience a big deal, Ben Simmons will need time to integrate into the team, and if Irving can only play 8 games, how can it be enough to run? Even if the Nets can still make the playoffs, How far can the Nets go in Irving's part-time state?
New York is the league's largest local market, and the Knicks have a bad record this season, there is little hope of entering the playoffs, the New York market needs the Nets to support, but the Nets are panicked because of Irving, whether from the perspective of pure basketball competition, or from the perspective of economic benefits, the league is reluctant to do so. If New York can revise its vaccine regulations in late February or early March, Irving's full-time participation could be a win-win situation.
The United States is bustling in this world, profits come and go, Irving does not play vaccines, behind the game of political and economic interests. Perhaps, Owen, who has realized the mysteries of the universe, has already seen through everything.
As the saying goes, others laugh at me for being crazy, and I laugh at others who can't see through it.