[ad_1]
Michael Dwyer / Associated Press
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has spoken of his recent absence ahead of his potential return to the field on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Irving told reporters he had “a lots of family and personal things “and wanted” stop there “:
“I’m back, happy to be back, we got some great plays and we’re moving on and I’m letting my actions and my game speak for itself as I planned to do.” , the six-time All-Star said. “I just needed a break. “
Irving has missed Brooklyn’s last seven games.
The team at the start cited personal reasons for his absence in a 122-109 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 7. Five days later, ESPN Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the NBA was watching in a video that allegedly showed Irving at a family event without a face mask.
The league ad As of Friday, he levied $ 50,000 against the veteran playmaker for a violation of health and safety protocols. Asked about the punishment, Irving dodged the question.
During his media appeal, the 28-year-old highlighted how his concerns extended far beyond his basketball career and into broader societal issues:
Videos on nets @SNYNets
Kyrie Irving says basketball and life have been “a lot to balance”: “There is a deeper level of emotions that I have to help people and serve. There is nothing normal about this life that I am living. Let me use it as a tool to change the things I want to see in the world “https://t.co/ULpKeWgmbd
As the NBA looked to resume the 2019-20 season at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, Irving was one of the most prominent dissenting voices. Athletic’s Shams Charania said he had not “supported entry to Orlando” was “not with systematic racism and bulls – t “when calling with players.
“Something smells a little fishy,” he says, through Charania. “Whether we like to admit it or not, we are targeted as black men every day that we wake up.”
Last July, Irving pledged $ 1.5 million via the KAI Empowerment Initiative to WNBA players retiring from the 2020 league season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Former NBA star Stephen Jackson said Irving helped buy a house for the family of George Floyd, who died shortly after former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck for nearly eight minutes in May.
[ad_2]
Source link