Choosing not to get a Covid-19 vaccination was a $100m decision, says Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving.
Last season, Irving, 30, could not play in the Nets’ home games until March because of New York’s ban on unvaccinated people in indoor venues.
His availability for away games was also dependent on different states’ vaccine requirements.
The seven-time All Star says his decision not to get vaccinated cost him a four-year contract extension.
“I gave up four years, 100-and-something million deciding to be unvaccinated and that was the decision,” he said.
“[Get this] contract, get vaccinated or be unvaccinated and there’s a level of uncertainty of your future, whether you’re going to be in this league, whether you’re going to be on this team, so I had to deal with that real-life circumstance of losing my job for this decision.”
The new NBA season starts on 18 October and Irving will play for the Nets on a $36.5m (£33.7m) player option deal, but could become a free agent next summer.
He had expected to sign a new contract in 2021.
“We were supposed to have all that figured out before training camp last year,” Irving said. “And it just didn’t happen because of the status of me being unvaccinated.
“So, I understood their point and I had to live with it. It was a tough pill to swallow, honestly.
“I felt like I was forced with an ultimatum of whether or not I had a contract, whether or not I can be on the team [based on] whether or not I was vaccinated. I was definitely put in that position where I had to make that decision.”
However, Irving’s view was disputed by general manager Sean Marks, instead saying contract talks “stalled” when the pandemic started.
“There’s no ultimatum being given here,” Marks said. “Again, it goes back to you want people who are reliable, people who are here and accountable. All of us: staff, players, coaches, you name it.
“It’s not giving somebody an ultimatum to get a vaccine. That’s a completely personal choice.
“Two summers ago, when we were talking about contract negotiations, that was pre-citywide mandates that went in. Once the vaccine mandates came in, you knew how that’d affect playing home games. That’s when contract talks stalled.
“It didn’t get to ‘here’s the deal, now take it back’. That never happened.”
Meanwhile, Irving’s Nets team-mate Kevin Durant says he is “committed” to the team, despite making a trade request in the summer because of doubts he held about their direction and the leadership of coach Steve Nash.
He later rescinded the request after meetings with Nets owner Joe Tsai, Nash and Marks.
“I’m getting older. I want to be in a place that’s stable and try to build a championship culture,” he said.
“We came to a mutual agreement that we should keep moving forward.”
He added: “I still love to play. I knew that wasn’t going to be affected.
“I’m committed to going forward with this team, so if they [fans] got doubts, I can’t control that.”
