Photo Courtesy of Getty Images (Steven Ryan)
Bostonians and Celtics fans are mad at Kyrie Irving’s recent comments calling out racism in Boston.
Irving, who played in Boston for two seasons, publicly expressed hope that his return to Boston isn’t tainted by fans being racist. His comments during the post-game press conference following Game 2 of Nets-Celtics were met with immediate scorn.
“Hopefully, we can just keep it strictly basketball,” Irving said. “There’s no belligerence or racism going on, subtle racism, and people yelling s**t from the crowd. Even if it is, it’s part of the nature of the game, and we’re just going to focus on what we can control.”
See the full press conference here:
Celtics fans’ responses have been very telling.
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Here’s some more context for Mark’s response. Irving reneged on his promise to re-sign with the Celtics, bolting in 2019 to join the Brooklyn Nets. Celtics fans claim that is the reason for their hatred of Irving. But, fans have yet to recognize the conversation for what it is.
The conversation has now grown beyond Irving. Jayson Tatum agreed with the most basic reading of Irving’s sentiment — don’t be racist at the basketball game.
Blake Griffin acknowledged hearing bad things about Boston, though never experiencing them.
Marcus Smart revealed he’s heard racism directed at opponents in TD Garden. Kevin Durant stood by Irving at the initial press conference, affirming that “I’m not the only one who could attest to this . . .The whole world knows it.”