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The NBA informed players of some very important news on Monday.
Teams around the league were informed in a memo that all players must still have either received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or have received medical clearance in order to play in games in Canada during the upcoming season.
According to ESPN, “the memo also states that, should players be ineligible to play in games in Canada, teams must list them as, ‘Out – Health and Safety Protocols,’ and they will lose their pay for any games missed due to not being vaccinated.”
Sources: NBA informed teams via memo today that, as it stands, non-vaccinated NBA players without a valid medical reason will still be ineligible to play in Toronto for the 2022-23 season.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) August 8, 2022
Last season, two star players — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Philadelphia 76ers guard Matisse Thybulle — were notably held out of games in Toronto for not having the COVID vaccine. Irving had also missed a number of games in Brooklyn due to New York’s vaccination requirements which changed later in the season.
Any Toronto Raptors plays will be ineligible to play in games in the United States if they are unvaccinated as well. Last season, the Raptors said the roster was 100 percent vaccinated.
We will find out when Irving, Thybulle, and other unvaccinated players will be unavailable pending a change in their vaccination status when the NBA schedule is released in a matter of weeks.
