DALLAS, TEXAS - MARCH 07: Kyrie Irving #2 of the Dallas Mavericks reacts while taking on the Utah Jazz in the second quarter at American Airlines Center on March 07, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
During a recent Twitch stream, Kyrie Irving aired out his grievances regarding how critics will base their whole perception on him after ultimately only “seeing [him] for three hours.”
Instead, the Dallas Mavericks athlete says that they don’t really know a thing about who he is, and he’s also defending himself against accusations of being “the cancer in the locker room.”
According to The Dallas Morning News, Kyrie’s 67-minute livestream went down shortly after he returned home from the Mavericks’ Mar. 8 game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
He initially addressed his “tribe” by acknowledging their unwavering support, as well as by apologizing for being “away from the stream for this long.”
Kyrie eventually pivoted to address some of his naysayers, and he proclaimed, “You see me for three hours and you think you know who I am.”
He went on to say that these detractors will run with narratives they form on him after seeing a one-sided view of Kyrie.
“You’ve seen me for three hours and you think you know who I am. You see a few posts, ‘Oh, Kai is woke..Oh my goodness, he just doesn’t fit into the mold of all other people. And man, he’s different, he’s crazy, he’s arrogant, he’s this, he’s that.’ All from seeing me for three hours.”
Kyrie then proceeded to mockingly run down additional questions he receives, and he suggests that they’re all centered on honing in on just one specific part of his life “as if twenty-one hours every day wasn’t happening after [his games].”
“‘Ooh, what’s Kai gonna do this summer? Does Kai like Dallas? What happened in Brooklyn? What happened in Boston? What happened in Cleveland? Why did you leave LeBron? Why did you leave Jayson? Why did you leave KD? Why did you leave all these people?’ For three hours. You get to ask all these legitimate questions. As if twenty-one hours every day wasn’t happening after that.”
At another point during the livestream, Kyrie addressed the perception that “bitter” NBA fans have about him being “the cancer in the locker room.”
“If you left it up to NBA Twitter or to sports Twitter or to sports Instagram, you would think that I am the cancer in the locker room. Me. You’d think that I’m the cancer in the locker room.”
Kyrie dismissed these claims by pointing out that basketball’s a team sport and, as there are various other men contributing, noting that he finds it hard to believe that he’s “the one cancer in the room.”
“As if basketball is an individual sport that one person is supposed to take blame for. Fifteen guys on the team, and I’m the one cancer in the room. That’s what it’s portrayed as.”
The 30-year-old then proceeded to add, “That’s why these older, bitter gentlemen and women keep my name in their mouths every day.”
You can check out a clip of Kyrie Irving making these comments down below.
What are your thoughts on Kyrie’s commentary?
