Sources – Kyrie Irving wouldn’t rejoin Brooklyn Nets this week; NBA expected to review maskless videos

As the NBA is expected to review videos circulating on social media of a maskless Kyrie Irving at what appears to be a family birthday party, there is no belief that the Brooklyn Nets security guard will return to the team’s lineup this week, sources said. to ESPN.

Irving was already excluded from his fourth straight game against Denver on Tuesday-evening, and sources say he will at least miss Wednesday’s game against New York and Saturday’s game against Orlando. His absence has been attributed to personal reasons.

In the videos – widely shared Monday night – a smiling Irving dances with his sister Asia on a confetti-covered floor and claps as she blows out candles. If the video turns out to be recent, that behavior could violate the competition’s coronavirus protocols.

The league’s COVID-19 guidelines prohibit players from going to clubs, bars and lounges. They also prohibit more than 15 people from attending social gatherings.

This study comes during a turbulent week as the competition is re-evaluating its health and safety rules for the coronavirus. The league canceled three games this week due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing quarantines.

The NBA board of directors is holding a special meeting on Tuesday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The team’s general managers had a phone call Monday aimed at tightening up the protocols.

The NBA has investigated other health and safety violations this season. In December, Black Sports Online released a video of James Harden partying, without a mask, supposedly at a Houston club’s Christmas party. After an investigation, the league fined the Houston Rockets star $ 50,000 and he was quarantined for four days while returning negative COVID-19 tests daily.

Harden never missed a game.

If a player misses a match due to a COVID-19 violation, he will lose 1/72 of his salary according to competition rules.