Kyrie Irving condemns the mistreatment of NBA players by Boston Celtics fans.
The NBA has had a rocky return to filled arenas and fan interactions after the pandemic. Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving is one of the few players at the forefront of the controversy. Once again, the Net’s point guard finds himself at odds with Boston fans. This time due to a fan getting arrested for throwing a water bottle at after game 4 of the playoffs.
Kyrie has swiftly denounced any form of racist behavior and mistreatment from fans, stating after Sunday’s game that: “As a black man playing in the NBA dealing with a lot of this stuff is fairly difficult because you never know when it could happen or what’s gonna happen at the end of the game or before the game.”
This comes after a series of similar incidents involving players and fans. Just a few days ago, Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook had an intense exchange with a fan who threw popcorn at him. A few days after that, Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young was spat on.
As players like Kyrie hope to ease the tensions between players and fans, constant violations and mistreatment by fans continue to threaten the safety of players.
Check out the clip from his postgame press conference here: