NBA players who have not completed their vaccinations will be unable to play in Toronto beginning January 15, as mandated by the Canadian government. The league reportedly delivered a note to the teams on Tuesday informing them of the discipline. A national interest exemption now allows non-vaccinated NBA and NHL players to enter the country. NBA players must now show confirmation of complete vaccination under the new rule. If they are unable to do so, they must miss a game in Toronto due to their inability to enter Canada and will be subject to further league sanctions.
The league stated that “any player who has not been completely vaccinated and has no medical contraindications to acquiring a COVID-19 vaccine will be ineligible to enter Canada to play at the Games in Toronto.”
According to the league memo, any non-fully vaccinated player who fails to deliver his services for a game in Canada faces a decrease in remuneration, a fine, suspension, or other suitable action.
If you have a medical contraindication to getting the vaccine, you can still come to Canada, but you’ll have to stay in quarantine for 14 days.
There are other vaccine requirements that players must be aware of. Any non-fully vaccinated player on a temporary visa who leaves the United States and does not have a medical reason for not receiving the vaccine will be denied entry back into the country, which would include players who depart during the All-Star break. According to the Centre’s for Disease Control and Prevention, some players, regardless of vaccination status, may be required to show a negative coronavirus test before returning to the United States from another country.
