The Kyrie Irving drama marches on with no end in sight. As of now, the seven-time All-Star is not eligible to play in Brooklyn Nets home games because he's unvaccinated. Further, he's not able to practice with the team or play in road games because the team decided they don't want to accommodate part-time players. Irving requested privacy on the entire matter during a Zoom and Instagram Live session during Nets Media Day. He did not discuss his vaccination status, but we can do the math. We wouldn't be having these conversations if he'd gotten the jab.

And so as ClutchPoints' Paolo Mariano writes, Kyrie Irving has slowly become one of the most polarizing figures in NBA history. But regardless of your feelings on this matter, it's all music to the ears of the Nets' rivals.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Irving is not anti-vax so much as anti-mandate. His position is that folks losing work because of their not being vaccinated in certain cities is the issue he is moved by.

Per Shams:

“Multiple sources with direct knowledge of Irving’s decision have told The Athletic that Irving is not anti-vaccine and that his stance is that he is upset that people are losing their jobs due to vaccine mandates. It’s a stance that Irving has explained to close teammates. To him, this is about a grander fight than the one on the court and Irving is challenging a perceived control of society and people’s livelihood, according to sources with knowledge of Irving’s mindset. It is a decision that he believes he is capable to make given his current life dynamics. “Kyrie wants to be a voice for the voiceless,” one source said.”

This may well be the crux of the matter here. Maybe he truly feels for those deprived of work because of what he feels is a personal health matter. But until Irving speaks up himself, we have to rely on anonymous sources from reporters. It's difficult to consider Kyrie Irving the “face of any movement” if he isn't speaking out on the subject while requesting privacy. We're left to merely infer his position while reading the tea leaves.

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Is it possible that's how he wants it? Does he think by not speaking up his position will carry more weight? If I had to guess, I'd say he will eventually share more about his feelings in time.

For now, there are a couple of things we can be sure of. From a basketball standpoint, this is terrible for Brooklyn, and it's great for the other 29 teams. Make no mistake, those rival teams are hoping Irving digs his heels in and takes a season-long stand. They are hoping he becomes a “voice for the voiceless,” as Charania reports.

From a competitive standpoint, the Nets' loss is the rest of the field's gain in this zero-sum game. If he opts to place worker rights or “victims of vaccine mandates” (or whatever his cause turns out to be) ahead of basketball, he simply won't be able to play. This would be a dream scenario for the other teams.

Whatever Irving's position happens to be and whenever he decides to speak about it, the whole thing has landed the Nets in murky territory where they're without the services of a top-20 player. Whether you respect his stance, hate what he stands for or are waiting for him to speak before passing judgment, we should all at least be able to admit the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers and others are licking their chops, hoping Kyrie Irving takes a very bold stand which costs him the season.