Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has confirmed he refused to renew his four-year contract worth more than one million dollars through the 2020-2021 season due to his decision not to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.

“I turned down my contract extension for another four years, 100 million and several million due to the fact that I stick to my decision not to get vaccinated,” Irving said in media statements the day before the start of the season.

“To sign such a contract, to be vaccinated or not… there is a certain uncertainty about your future, so I had to deal with the possibility of losing my job because of this decision,” he added.

Irving was forced to miss home games in Brooklyn until the end of March of this year, because the health protocol in effect in New York before that prohibited unvaccinated people from visiting gyms.

The 30-year-old added that he received an “ultimatum” about getting vaccinated if he wanted to renew his contract.

He emphasized: “We had to settle everything before the training camp last season. It didn’t happen just because I refused. I just had to deal with it. This situation was difficult to digest.”

Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks refuted the idea of ​​an “ultimatum” for the player, stating, “It was only about dealing with people who are trusted, present and in charge. All of us, staff, players and coaches. about giving someone an ultimatum to get vaccinated.”

In late June, Irving activated a clause to extend his contract for another season until June 2023 for $37 million.