New York City COVID-19 vaccine mandate for athletes to be lifted Thursday

New York Mayor Eric Adams will lift the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on athletes Thursday, paving the way for Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving to play at the Barclays Center on Sunday and for unvaccinated New York Yankees and Mets players to play in their April home openers, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN on Wednesday.

The rollback of the mandate that has applied to all private businesses in the city would cover professional athletes and performers, and come on the heels of discussions that had given hope to NBA and MLB teams that the long-awaited move would come to fruition.

Adams, who was sworn in Jan. 1 and has eased the city’s COVID-19 policies…