Kyrie Irving is one of the best point guards in the NBA and while he is extremely talented, he is also very polarizing. There are a lot of fans who don’t like him and many of those fans just so happen to be in Boston. As it stands, the Brooklyn Nets are taking on the Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, and last night, Kyrie’s team took a 3-1 series lead as the series heads back to Brooklyn where they will look to put the final nail in the coffin.
After last night’s game, Kyrie was leaving the court when all of a sudden, a water bottle was thrown at his head by a fan. Eventually, the fan was escorted out of the building, arrested, and banned from TD Garden. After the game, Irving got to respond to the incident, noting just how disrespectful it was and that fans treat the players like they are animals.
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“It’s unfortunate that sports have come to this crossroads,” Irving said. “You’re seeing a lot of old ways come up. It’s been that way in history in terms of entertainment, performers and sports for a long time. Just underlying racism and treating people like they’re in a human zoo, throwing stuff at people, saying things.
“There is a certain point where it gets to be too much so I called it out. I just wanted to keep it strictly basketball but you see people feel very entitled out here. They pay for their ticket, great. I’m grateful that they are coming in to watch a great performance but we’re not at the theater. We are not throwing tomatoes and other random stuff at the people that are performing. It’s too much and it’s a reflection on us as a whole when you have fans acting like that. Hopefully, people learn their lessons from being banned or however many years of being arrested, but it’s always going to be an occasion.”