Is Aaron Judge vaccinated? Yankees star brings up Kyrie Irving in response to NYC mandate

With New York City athletes now allowed to perform without having the COVID-19 vaccine, Yankees star Aaron Judge commented on the issue. 

The COVID-19 vaccine has become politically polarizing, even in the world of sports. Many athletes have tried to keep their vaccination status to themselves, evidenced by the Aaron Rodgers debacle in which he misled media by saying he was “immunized”, which was commonly interpreted to mean “vaccinated”.

In basketball, Kyrie Irving has been fighting his own fight for the unvaccinated, forgoing millions of dollars and the opportunity to play for the Brooklyn Nets because he will not get the COVID-19 vaccine despite NYC’s vaccine mandate. It’s been a point of contention for the Nets all season, with the team campaigning to have him contribute to away games as long as the mandate is effective. Now, it’s baseball season, and the vaccine mandate is being repealed, which has prompted reporters to ask Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge what he thinks.

Judge, who has not publicly shared his vaccination status and has repeatedly dodged questions about it, shared his thoughts on what this means for Irving instead.

Yankees: Aaron Judge is happy Kyrie Irving can play for the Nets at home

It’s unclear if Judge wasn’t worried about the mandate affecting baseball season because he expected the mandate to be repealed, or if he had nothing to worry about because he has now the vaccine.

“Kind of told you guys, I wasn’t too worried about it,’’ Judge said of the vaccine mandate. “And I’ve got a lot of things to do here at the field.”

“So, if the mandate’s not there, then I guess it’s good for Kyrie – he can play some home games and help the Nets out a little bit,” he continued.

Judge could be attempting to be cryptic with media the way Rodgers was, or it could be chalked up to him being a massive Nets fan, but in either case, he’s right: the mandate is now something he and Kyrie don’t need to worry about this spring.