MY ACCOUNT
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant said the Kyrie Irving situation “sucks all around for everybody”, but is hoping all involved can soon move on.
Irving was suspended for a minimum of five games by the Nets on Thursday, in light of his unapologetic response to the widespread backlash for allegedly endorsing a film that Nets owner Joe Tsai said was “full of anti-Semitic disinformation”.
On Wednesday, the Nets and Irving each donated $500,000 towards causes and organisations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities, but after the 30-year-old stopped short of apologising during a media session on Thursday, Brooklyn suspended the former Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers guard.
For his part, Durant suggested he did not feel the situation had been handled well, labelling it “unnecessary”.
“I ain’t hear to judge nobody or talk down on nobody for how they feel, their views or anything, I just didn’t like anything that went on,” said Durant.
“I feel like it was all unnecessary. I felt like we could have just kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organisation. I just don’t like none of it.
“It’s an unfortunate situation for people that are impacted by this situation. It just sucks all around for everybody. Hopefully we can move past it.
“That’s just the way of the NBA now. Media, so many outlets now and their stories hit pretty fast now. That’s where all the chaos is coming from, from everybody’s opinions. Everybody has an opinion on this situation and we’re hearing it nonstop.
“But once the balls start bouncing and we get into practice none of that stuff seeps into the gym. So that’s the cool part about being in the league.
“But once you step off the court, everyone got the microphones out and the microscopes looking at you asking you what you feel about it. That’s been difficult. But the game is the constant for us.”
Durant subsequently tweeted to clarify that his comments in Thursday’s media gathering were in no way an endorsement of Irving’s actions.
“Just wanna clarify the statements I made at shootaround, I see some people are confused,” Durant tweeted.
“I don’t condone hate speech or anti-semetism [sic], I’m about spreading love always. Our game unites people and I wanna make sure that’s at the forefront.”
