As the NBA regular season draws to a close, this is usually the time where stars lock in and prepare for the intense battles to come.
But for Kyrie Irving, his mind just isn’t there right now. In a chat with Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report, he explained why:
“For me personally, I’m not really…I’m not gonna lie to you guys,” Irving said. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s going on in this world, and basketball’s just not the most important thing to me right now. There’s a lot of stuff going on overseas. All my people are still in bondage all across the world, and there’s a lot of dehumanization going on.
So I apologize if I’m not gonna be focused on y’all’s questions. It’s just too much going on in the world for me to just be talking about basketball. I got to focus on this s–t 24-7, most of the time, but it’s just too much going on in this world not to address. It’s sad to see the s–t going on.”
Irving is specifically referring to the unrest going on between Israel and Palestine — which is causing a lot of tragedy and casualty in the area.
“Being in this gym—yeah, I’m grateful for the opportunity, it’s a blessing—but my goal out here, my purpose is to help humanity. And I can’t sit here and not address that. I don’t care which way you stand, on either side, if you’re a human being and you support the anti-war effort that’s going on—there’s a lot of people losing their lives, children, a lot of babies—that’s just what I’m focused on.”
On one hand, it is admirable that Kyrie wants to be involved and use his platform to change the world. During unrest like this, it’s good that people with influence speak up.
On the other hand, this distraction isn’t good news for the Nets, who will need him at 100% if they want any hope of winning a Championship.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how Irving and the Nets deal with the situation.
