Matisse Thybulle won’t be playing in Toronto Thursday night because he’s been deemed “ineligible” due to COVID-19 vaccination rules.

As you know, Canada is a lot more strict with COVID than the United States, so there have been plenty of instances going back to 2020 of athletes not being able to play up there. In this particular case, the confusion seems to stem from the fact that Thybulle played in Toronto earlier this season, which makes people wonder what’s different this time.

What happened is that the rules changed AFTER that game, which was on December 28th. Athletes were previously part of an exemption list, but that was nixed, with the government explaining it this way:

“As of January 15, 2022, certain groups of travellers, who are currently exempt from entry requirements, will only be allowed to enter the country if they are fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved for entry into Canada. These groups include:

  • Individuals travelling to reunite with family (unless they are under 18 years of age if travelling to reunite with an immediate or extended family member who is either fully vaccinated or a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person registered under the Indian Act.)
  • International students (18 years of age and over)…..
  • Professional athletes and their support staff, and amateur athletes.


Previously, the guidelines were lax for athletes because Canada described this as a “national interest exemption.” That changed on January 15th and has been in place for nearly three months since.

The other Matisse question that was all over Twitter centered on New York City. The Kyrie Irving thing. “Why was Matisse allowed to play up there?” There was never any issue because the rule didn’t apply to visiting teams. It was only for Nets and Knicks players. It was a very dumb rule. That’s why Matisse had no issues going to NYC, and he was also allowed to play in the Olympics because vaccination wasn’t required for participation.

Thybulle hasn’t been playing very well lately, but you don’t want to find yourself in a 4/5 opening round matchup with Toronto where he’d be deemed ineligible for three games.