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Wall sides with Kyrie, says he wouldn't play in Orlando if healthy

Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images Sport / Getty

John Wall wouldn't want to play in Orlando, either.

The Washington Wizards guard already ruled himself out of the NBA's return-to-play plan this summer due to the torn Achilles he suffered early in 2019. However, with Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving and Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley reportedly leading a coalition of players who are against the proposed quarantined setting at Disney World, Wall says he would have safety concerns about going.

"For me, if I was playing, I wouldn't want to go to it, to be honest. I just don't feel like it's safe. I just don't feel like it is," he said on a recent episode of "The Tuff Juice Podcast" with Caron Butler. "I understand why they want to do it and what they're trying to get to, but I wouldn't want to."

Wall also specifically defended Irving, adding that he believes the Nets guard is currently speaking for multiple players with similar concerns despite unrelated contentious statements in the past.

"Kyrie has his things where he be in his own world ... 'The earth is flat.' But to be honest, I think he has a point. A lot of people feel that way," Wall said. "I think that's why they tried to get on that call and see how many people really want to go play and how many people don't want to play.

"Because with all this 'Black Lives Matter' going on right now and protesting and trying to get justice and all that, a lot of people feel like it's not safe to go there. That's what he stands on. I don't know too much in to it, but if I was healthy enough to go play, I won't want to go to play."

Several other players have supported Irving's stance. Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard was also opposed, stating that playing would serve as a distraction amid the ongoing protests across the United States against police brutality and racial injustice.

However, other players have spoken out for playing the remainder of the season, including Utah Jazz center Ed Davis, who argued those earning much less than Irving and Howard need the money from the outlying games to care for those close to them.

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