Wilson Chandler defended Kyrie Irving from all the critics in wake of his comments on the NBA restart.
If you have a problem with Kyrie Irving, now you have a problem with Wilson Chandler. The Brooklyn Nets star point guard came out a couple weeks ago and expressed his displeasure with the NBA’s restart plan, specifically the fact that it’d be taking place amid significant social unrest in the United States.
As expected, it was met with a ton of criticism from fans, media members, and current and former players. Kevin Durant backed Irving as well by blasting Kendrick Perkins, who has been public enemy No. 1 when it comes to this. Chandler has thrown his hat into the ring, voicing his opinion on Twitter on Tuesday night.
Here’s what he had to say:
Wilson Chandler keeps backing Kyrie Irving: 'He had the backbone to speak his mind'https://t.co/tPKV7k0OBp
— Nets Wire (@thenetswire) June 24, 2020
“Crazy to me how fans, ex players and players criticized Kyrie for voicing his opinion. A opinion that wasn’t wrong at all. Who cares if you didn’t like his delivery or the way he went about it. With everything that’s going on from police brutality to covid he had the backbone to speak his mind. Whether I’m on the court playing or not I respect and support his opinion.”
You have to admit that it’s funny how we preach freedom of speech from every corner of America, yet when someone hears an opinion they don’t like, they’re ready to do all they can to silence it. Everyone who’s making it their business to rip Irving for prioritizing social reform over basketball are clearly missing the bigger picture.
You don’t have to agree with it, but there’s little reason to crusade against it.
However, while Chandler’s supportive words mean a lot, we can’t ignore that he tweeted this out a few weeks ago:
Perhaps social reform isn’t atop Chandler’s to-do list, but he certainly understands Irving’s sentiment and isn’t going to be outspoken against someone’s feelings or beliefs that are beyond valid during times like these.