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Mayor Eric Adams will ease the city’s private-sector vaccination mandate so Nets star Kyrie Irving — and some possibly unvaccinated Mets and Yankees — can compete at home, a source familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
Adams is expected to announce the reversal of his earlier stance on Thursday, the source told The Post.
The move will cover Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, home to the Nets, as well as Yankee Stadium in The Bronx and the Mets’ Citi Field in Queens.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is widely suspected to be unvaccinated, and the Bombers are scheduled to face off against the rival Boston Red Sox at home on April 7, the opening day of Major League Baseball’s 2022 season.
The Mets have their home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 15.
Under the mandate that into effect on Dec. 27, Big Apple businesses have to require that their employees get vaccinated against COVID-19.
As a result, Irving — who hasn’t been jabbed — has been barred from playing in home games.
But a loophole allows visiting players to compete because their employers aren’t based in the city.
Adams’s plan to close it was first reported by Politico.
Just last week, Adams downplayed concerns by local sports fans — and The Post — that the mandate could cripple New York’s pro teams, saying, “Everyone that’s focusing on a sports area, they’re focusing on one person.”
“I’m focused on 9 million people,” he insisted.
“And so, I am not looking at one person, I’m looking at my city not closing down again, not having to deal with this crisis again.
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