MY ACCOUNT
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has asked people to be “more vigilant” with what they say and promote on social media amid Kyrie Irving’s NBA expulsion.
Brooklyn Nets point guard Irving has been suspended for five weeks without pay after refusing to apologise for a post franchise owner Joe Tsai described as being “full of anti-Semitic disinformation”.
Though Irving has subsequently issued a belated apology following news of his ban, Warriors boss Kerr still feels there needs to be a wider conversation around the consequences of such language.
“Words matter,” he stated. “Words really, really matter. In modern society with social media, the way things can fan across the globe exponentially and get five million hits immediately, every comment matters.
“Everything you say matters. We have to be more vigilant as a society. We can’t be just accepting comments that are so destructive and insulting to people.
“It’s crucial that everybody, whether you’re a professional athlete or not, it’s crucial that everybody thinks before they just throw stuff out there that can be so damaging.”
Irving is set to miss away trips to the Wizards, the Hornets, the Mavericks and the Clippers plus a lone home match versus the Knicks before he is considered for a return to the roster.
The Warriors next face the Pelicans after a narrow 130-129 loss to the Magic.
