No matter how you feel about former Boston Celtics point guard and current fan opponent No. 1 Kyrie Irving, his recent words picking at the unhealed scab of race relations in Boston sports are not based in imagined realities we can simply ignore.
The now-Brooklyn Net star had some choice words after his team crushed his former franchise on Brooklyn’s home court, words which bothered, rankled, rang false, or irritated — and for many, rang true. Those words almost casually planted a finger on the third rail of Boston sports, namely the history of racism in one of the nation’s supposedly most progressive cities.
“It’s not my first time being an opponent in Boston,” began Irving in response to being asked about what he expects from their being fans in the building for the first time since his departure to Brooklyn in 2019.
Kyrie Irving says he is looking forward to getting out to Boston with his teammates. Adds, "I hope there isn't any belligerence or racism."
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) May 26, 2021