A National Basketball Association star player is not eligible to practice or play with his team because he has not gotten the coronavirus vaccine, and an National Football League coach resigned yesterday after offensive emails were published.
The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets announced that seven-time All-Star Kyrie Irving is not eligible to play or practice with the team because he has refused to get the coronavirus vaccine, ESPN reports, becoming the first player to be excluded from team activities because of his vaccine status.
Because Irving does not have at least one vaccine shot, he is not eligible to enter any indoor gym in New York City under city regulations. That includes the Barclays Center, the Nets home arena, meaning Irving cannot practice with the team or play in home games.
“Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability. It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said Tuesday in a statement.
In NFL news, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has resigned after the New York Times published numerous emails Gruden wrote containing racist, misogynist and homophobic comments. Prior to becoming head coach of the Raiders, Gruden was an analyst for ESPN’s Monday Night Football coverage.
Gruden’s emails, sent over several years, contained offensive content including racist tropes of the Black head of the players’ union; homophobic slurs directed at the commissioner of the league; and misogynistic content about female game officials, as well as women in general.
Gruden referred to Michael Sam, the first openly-gay player to make a preseason team roster, although he was ultimately cut, as “queer,” and hee referred to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, a “faggot” and a “clueless anti football pussy.” One of the players on the Raiders roster this year is Carl Nassib, a defensive end who came out over the summer.
“I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” he said on Twitter in a statement issued by the team. “I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.”