With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything came to a halt. Countries closed down completely until a vaccine could be found. And when that happened, a real controversy arose between those that maintained that everyone should be inoculated and those that believed that it should not be mandatory and that any sort of obligation on the issue would be a sign of oppression.

A number of big athletes refused to be vaccinated, while others opposed that decision. It was a condition that changed the balances between opponents and thus a change in the odds offered by the best bookmakers.

Was he really anti-vaccine?

One of these athletes, a big NBA star, become well-known for his determination not to be vaccinated.  The ruling body of the league made it compulsory to receive the inoculation or be banned from training and participation in matches. Eventually, he was excluded from all the team activities.

His stance became a serious issue as other players stood beside him and supported his decision. However, for the rest, he was dubbed as an anti-vaccine. This forced sources close to the player to come out and clarify that he was not against the vaccine. His disagreement was about the decision for people to lose their jobs if they chose not to comply with the compulsory imposition of the vaccination.

“Incredibly grateful to be back”

The Brooklyn Nets took matters into their own hands and re-instated Kyrie Irving to the team activities away, where the New York State’s requirements on the issue were not in effect. Furthermore, he would be paid as required by the collective bargaining rights. Thus, the star guard’s annual loss on his $33 million contract would be $15 million.

“I understood their decision and respected it,” the Nets star said during his first press conference since October 13 at his training facility in Brooklyn on Wednesday. “I really had to sit back and think and try not to become too emotionally attached to what they were deciding to do. I had to really evaluate things and see it from their perspective, meaning the organization, my teammates.”

The earliest game for Irving to return is against the Indiana Pacers on January 5. If he can’t catch up, he’ll have to wait to play against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 17. In any case, his presence will change the balances resulting in a new set of odds that could be taken advantage of, by those who choose to open a betting account without restrictions.