Former NBA player John Salley defends Kyrie Irving over vaccination status

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Former NBA player John Salley defended Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving over his decision not to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, causing him to miss a significant number of games this season.

Salley praised Irving for his commitment to evaluating what goes into his body this week. 

"I think Kyrie Irving is the premier athlete -- professional," Salley said during an interview with TMZ. "I think he's conscious. I think he thinks it through. I think it's very important that people pay attention too, he's not into the lies, the glitz. He's into taking care of his body."

Salley explained that Irving does his own research but is ridiculed because his beliefs fall outside the mainstream view.

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John Salley attends PETA's 35th anniversary party at Hollywood Palladium on September 30, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.  (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic via Getty )

"I'm the biggest Kyrie fan," Salley said. "Everything he does, I take my hat off to him."

The NBA did not have a vaccine mandate for its players this season but because of a local mandate for New York City-based businesses that was in place for most of the season, Irving was prohibited from playing home games.  

Irving was still allowed to play in road games and unvaccinated players competing for visiting teams were still permitted to play in New York City arenas.

The Nets had initially decided against letting Irving play at all since they did not want him to only be a part-time player. But a COVID outbreak in December that led to several players missing games forced the team's hand and