In the modern era, we have often seen players speak out on issues happening across the world. We’ve seen players at Black Lives Matter protests, and we’ve witnessed the NBA as a whole speak out about racial injustice in America during the NBA bubble and otherwise.
Despite the fact that other players are praised for speaking out about social justice causes it is often that Kyrie Irving has been attacked for it, and people have often said that he needs to focus on basketball. While basketball is obviously Kyrie Irving’s job, there are also some things in life that are more important.
Kyrie Irving’s father Drederick Irving, has recently spoken out on his son and said that he’s the most misunderstood person in sports. People are often quick to assume things about him.
But in a brief, cordial conversation, the man the Brooklyn Nets’ point guard has called his hero, idol, best friend and favorite player made it clear he has not been pleased with the media’s recent coverage of his 29-year-old son. “Kyrie is probably the most misunderstood person in sports,” his father said.
He talked a bit about his own basketball career at Boston University with the caller who had seen him play at Marist, where Drederick, then a spindly, 6-foot-4 sophomore, fearlessly penetrated and attacked a huge front line that included 7-4 Rik Smits, scoring 18 in a victory. Drederick rang up nearly 2,000 points at BU, got his jersey retired and got cut by the Celtics before lighting up a pro league in Australia, where Kyrie was born. All these years later, when the subject of his son’s philanthropy is raised, Drederick points out that Kyrie does not seek publicity for his good deeds.
Buying George Floyd’s family a new house? “I didn’t even know he did it,” Drederick said.
Everyone who knows Dred’s son knows that basketball doesn’t define him. In Kyrie’s case, the game provides a platform for the human being more than it serves as a proving ground for the athlete, which is an interesting thing to say about a point guard who is being paid $33.3 million this season to get past his old team, Boston, in the first round, and to ultimately win the city’s first basketball championship since 1973.
It definitely looks as though Kyrie Irving isn’t doing good because he is an attention seeker. At the end of the day, we know that Kyrie Irving cares about basketball. But at the same time, you’re allowed to pursue other things, and for Kyrie Irving, those things are ventures related to social justice.
