Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving made a desperate plea to Celtics fans prior to their trip to Boston for Games 3 and 4 – don’t be stupid or racist.
“Hopefully we can keep it basketball, no belligerence, subtle racism, people yelling sh-t from the crowd.”
If it happens? “It is what it is,” said the Nets guard, via NY Post’s Brian Lewis.
Perhaps the Nets All-Star could see into the future, because he basically called it before he became the victim of actual fan incident. Irving had a filled up water bottle hurled directly at him as he exited the arena.
Here is the video from @YESNetwork. The bottle narrowly misses Irving. This is just the latest incident in a string of recent unacceptable behavior from fans toward NBA players. https://t.co/UG271PaCGw pic.twitter.com/jSnaYR4ETU
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) May 31, 2021
Beyond just the singular act, though disgusting on its own, Kyrie attacked the implications behind fans doing such despicable acts towards actual human beings.
“You’re seeing a lot of old ways come up… 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,” the Nets star said. (via ESPN’s Malika Andrews)
Kyrie Irving, in part, on the fan throwing a water bottle at him: "You're seeing a lot of old ways come up… 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."
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) May 31, 2021
The Nets are now up over the Celtics with a commanding 3-1 lead as the NBA playoffs marches on. But with stupidity among fans around the league apparently growing rampant, don’t be surprised if drastic measures take place to ensure player safety.
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