In his first address to the media last Saturday after promoting an antisemitic film, Kyrie Irving battled with the media and laid bare the biggest issue facing the Brooklyn Nets moving forward with their 30-year-old superstar.
“I’m not going to stand down on anything that I believe in,” Irving said. “I’m only going to get stronger because I’m not alone. I have a whole army around me.”
Kyrie Irving has a large contingent of fans who believe whatever he says and will defend him to whatever end. These people are not hard to find even with a cursory scroll through social media. Go read the comments of any of Irving’s Instagram posts.
On Friday morning, the hashtag “#IStandWithKyrie,” and the phrase “The Jews” trended on Twitter, where fans openly shared antisemitic rhetoric. In the comments of any ESPN clip on YouTube discussing Kyrie’s situation, you don’t have to look very far to find fans arguing he did nothing wrong.
So long as Kyrie Irving is an official representative of the Brooklyn Nets, he’ll bring that same army in tow. Yes, Irving has apologized to the Jewish community. Yes, the Nets plan to have Irving complete “objective remedial measures.” He’s also said that he isn’t going to back down on what he believes, and it’s foolish to think that Irving can also educate his legions of fans.
This controversy is not going away as long as Kyrie’s army exists – and for a player on an expiring contract that everyone in the NBA expects to be out of Brooklyn by the end of the season anyway, this isn’t a difficult business decision for the Nets. When you can’t trust that a player can make it through a single press conference without torching the image of your organization, you cannot keep him on the team. It doesn’t matter how many points he scores or how “skillful” he may be.
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NBA Twitter reacts as Kyrie Irving has his worst game as a Net in loss
Story originally appeared on Nets Wire
