NEWSLETTER
Well that was fast. Like, incredibly fast. Less than 24 hours after the Brooklyn Nets announced that Kyrie Irving had begun the process of returning to the team, despite remaining unvaccinated and ineligible to play games at home, he has reportedly entered COVID protocols:
Kyrie Irving has entered the league’s Covid protocols, team says.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 18, 2021
Wojnarowski adds that Irving, the ninth Nets player to enter protocols, will now need to test negative for five consecutive days before joining his team at practice.
But before we jump on the DUH train, let’s acknowledge that there are two possible explanations here, one far less salacious than the other.
1. He simply tested positive. My guess is that an unvaccinated Kyrie Irving wasn’t being tested until the Nets decided to bring him back; then they tested him, he happened to be positive, and that’s that. Protocols. But it’s not the only possibility.
2. He’s not positive, and this is just part of the process. It’s also possible, however, that bringing back any player – especially an unvaccinated player – requires an automatic trip through the protocols. And it that’s the case, the irony of it all melts away a little bit and Irving could be back soon.
I do not know this, but I would guess Irving entering the protocols was automatic because he'll need multiple negative tests before they can even think about playing him. It's plausible that his status just had to be changed from "not eligible" or whatever Nets were calling it.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) December 18, 2021
In either case, for however much I wish Irving would just get vaccinated, for his sake, and the sake of those around him, this isn’t a laughing matter. The irony of him testing positive so quickly after the Nets folded on their promise not to let him play unless he was a full participant is real, but so is the virus. And this problem has really begun to spiral out of control for the NBA. If it keeps up, the season could be paused, again, and that’s not what anybody wants.
So hopefully, we’re looking at possibility NO. 2 here. We’ll update when we know more.
Update: It was either a positive or inconclusive test.
Got some clarity from the Nets: Kyrie Irving would not have entered the health and safety protocols if he was merely testing to return to the team. He has returned a positive or inconclusive test, which requires 5 days of consecutive negative tests for unvaccinated players.
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) December 18, 2021
