On January 5, Beijing time, Irving is expected to make a comeback in the Nets' road game with the Pacers, which is a lot of exciting news for Nets fans. However, not long after the news of Irving's appearance came out, there was another piece of news that blew up the network and made Nets fans more excited, that is, the problem that Irving could not play the home game, and there may be hope to solve it, as long as he is willing to pay a fine of $5,000 per game.
The news was even forwarded by a so-called Nets reporter, from a mandatory vaccination order issued by the New York city government on December 27 last year. According to the injunction, employees in private companies must provide documents certifying that they have received at least one dose of covid-19 vaccine before entering the workplace, or they will be fined. The first time in violation of the regulations was at least $1,000, the second time was at least $2,000, and the third and future departures were at least $5,000.
As a result, the Nets have 22 more regular season games, 1 game for $1,000, 1 game for $2,000, and 20 games for $5,000, adding up to $103,000. Counting the playoff games, even if each round of the playoffs has home advantage and the home game is full, the penalty is less than $200,000, which is not as high as Irving's salary in a game. Even if the Nets don't pay Irving, he won't be upset if he pays for it himself. Some fans even joked that Irving could directly do a package for the year.
But can things really be that simple? Just after the Nets reporter's editorial voice, New York local media OutletsDaily immediately refuted the news, denying the possibility that Irving wanted to play the home game by paying a fine.
,, Irving wants to play at the Barclays Center, he has to do the same thing as every fan who comes in, get vaccinated. The media wrote.
In fact, as early as August last year, the Nets officially announced that all Barclays Center staff and fans will be required to be fully vaccinated, starting from September 13, local time, people aged 12 or older will be required to show proof of having received one dose of vaccination. Note that Irving can now attend home training because the New York municipal government has determined that the Nets training hall is not a public training place, so he can only train at home, not play.
If the Nets are now backsliding and allowing Irving to play in home games without vaccination, how can they restrain the fans and other staff who come to see the ball? Some might say that fans will not be willing to pay fines. This may indeed be the case in the regular season, but what if it's the playoffs or even the Finals? In the 19th Warriors and Raptors Finals, the most expensive side ticket in the 6th game sold for $69287.21, creating a record in NBA history, while the average price of the 5th wartime side ticket broke through $60,000, and the lowest ticket price was $3238.
What's more, the New York City government issued this administrative regulation, which clearly wants to promote vaccination, not to create opportunities for the Nets and Irving. At the same time, the fines stipulated have "at least" 2 words, that is, the numbers of 1000, 2000 and even 5000 are only the lower limit of the fine rather than the upper limit, and the target is mainly ordinary enterprise employees, and it is absolutely impossible to be a person who far exceeds the average income level of society such as an NBA star.
So if Owen really wants to force the hole to play the home game by paying the fine, it is tantamount to punching the New York City government, and the amount of the fine at that time will probably never be what some people currently imagine, just according to the lower limit of the fine, only a few hundred thousand dollars. This figure is more likely to double by tens or even hundreds of times, because Irving's income is basically tens or even hundreds of times the average income of the United States. At the same time, it is not excluded that the New York City government will revise their administrative regulations again, and will issue new provisions for high-income people such as Irving.
Nets fans want to let Irving return as soon as possible, and it is understandable that he can play the home game, after all, with Irving's Nets, it is the full body of the Nets, and it is more likely to compete for the championship. But the best way to solve the problem is definitely not to admit a fine, but to let Owen get vaccinated as soon as possible. Otherwise, to think that you can solve the problem for only a few hundred thousand dollars is to think of things too simply.