Kyrie Irving, Bam Adebayo were separated for trying to trade jerseys in a bizarre moment
Kyrie Irving and Bam Adebayo weren’t allowed to hug or trade jerseys after their two teams breathed on each other and bumped into each other for a 48-minute game on Saturday night.
After the Brooklyn Nets beat the Miami Heat, 128-124, Irving and Adebayo briefly chatted and seemed to be about to trade jerseys when a member of the Heat’s security team separated them. In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the NBA agreed to disallow handshaking and hugging before and after games. The league released a memo this week to say it intended to increase the enforcement efforts of that rule. That’s why that security member was waiting at mid court — his job is to prevent players from lingering and potentially spreading the novel coronavirus.
Later on Saturday night, Irving told reporters he got the jersey.
the hug police is here pic.twitter.com/GWnN3yvEdI
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) January 24, 2021
On one hand, the NBA should be doing everything it can to prevent the spread of the virus while the league’s season is underway during the pandemic. On the other hand, these efforts seem a little half-baked. It’s easy to wonder why they can’t interact after the game when the players are in regular physical contact during the game. Stranger still, Irving completed the jersey trade despite the NBA’s interference.
It seems like this concept needs some work.