The Brooklyn Nets announced earlier this week that their star guard Kyrie Irving won't' be playing until he gets his COVID vaccine. 

Kyrie was already ineligible for all of the Nets home games, due to New York City's vaccine mandate.

Folks like Stephen A. Smith have ripped Irving for his vaccine stance.

Kyrie defended himself on social media.

“It’s the reality that in order to be in New York City, in order to be on the team I have to be vaccinated,” Irving said on IG Live. “I chose to be unvaccinated. And that was my choice. And I would ask y’all just to respect that choice.

“I’m staying grounded in what I believe in,” he continued “It’s not about being anti-vax or about being on one side or the other. It’s about being true to what feels good for me. I’m still uncertain about a lot of things. And that’s OK. If I’m going to be demonized about having more questions and taking my time to make a decision with my life, then that’s just what it is.”

Kyrie also made clear that he is not retiring.

“I am going to just continue to stay in shape, be ready to play, be ready to rock out with my teammates and just be part of this whole thing,” Irving said, though he gave no indication that he plans to receive the vaccine. “This is not a political thing; this is not about the NBA, not about any organization. This is about my life and what I am choosing to do.”

The Nets announced yesterday that they rescinded their offer for the $186 million contract extension Irving is eligible to get.