Kyrie Irving is in danger of having to miss every home game this season if he refuses to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and Shaquille O’Neal thinks the Brooklyn Nets should move on from the star point guard if the situation doesn’t change.
During an appearance on CBS Sports Radio’s “Tiki and Tierney” Show this week, Shaq was asked how he would feel about Irving’s vaccination status if he were a player on the Nets. The Hall of Famer said he would march up to the front office and demand that Irving be traded.
“I would go upstairs and say get him up outta here,” Shaq said. “We can win with a two-punch and a great shooter and some rebounders, like we’ve got. Get his a– up out of here. Now every day I’m gonna have to answer questions about him and what he’s doing … get his a– up outta here.”
You can hear O’Neal’s comments below at around the 1:42 mark:
"I would go upstairs and say 'get (Kyrie) up out of here. Get him outta here'… Whoever owns the Nets, get his ass up outta here"@SHAQ says #nets have to trade #kyrie if he doesn't get vaccinatedhttps://t.co/aYyuIQ35js pic.twitter.com/MHV4LtFdCs
— TikiAndTierney (@TikiAndTierney) September 29, 2021
Shaq also criticized other players who have not gotten vaccinated in an interview with USA Today’s Mark Medina. The four-time NBA champion said those players should fall in line for their teammates.
“In this line of work, sometimes you have to be selfless,” Shaq said. “The day I decided it wasn’t all about me and it’s about us is the day I started winning and really started dominating.”
The NBA issued a fairly significant warning to unvaccinated players on Tuesday. As of now, players who are not vaccinated will not be able to play in any games that are held in New York City and San Francisco. That could present a major problem for Irving, Golden State Warriors star Andrew Wiggins, and any other unvaccinated player.
There has been no indication that the Nets want to trade Irving. However, even if they did, his value may not even be very high around the NBA.
