Brooklyn Nets: Kyrie Irving’s latest comments and donations should shut up all the haters
By Mike Luciano
Kyrie Irving is doing everything he can to change how he is being perceived by the media.
Because he will occasionally say some off-the-wall stuff and didn’t end up taking the Boston Celtics to the promised land, Brooklyn Nets superstar point guard Kyrie Irving has earned an unfair reputation as a distractor and destructive presence. Not only have dozens of quotes from current and former teammates contested that narrative, but Kyrie has proven to be among the more altruistic souls in the league, with his latest stunt standing out as perhaps his most compassionate.
Irving, through his foundation’s 11 days of giving in December, completely paid off the college tuition for nine students at Pennsylvania HBCU Lincoln University. Considering out-of-state tuition can be as high as $18,000, this was really a generous move from Irving.
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving paid off the college tuition of nine students from an HBCU (Lincoln University) on Dec. 10 as part of his foundation’s 11 days of giving in December.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 31, 2020
Kyrie Irving was also complimentary of Becky Hammon after she coached the Spurs last night.
Irving, who is averaging an absurd 28.3 points per game this season on 53 percent shooting and 47 percent from three, also took the time to congratulate Becky Hammon, who became the first female acting head coach in NBA history when Hammon took over for an ejected Gregg Popovich in the San Antonio Spurs’ loss against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Irving said that he is “grateful to be a part of history” and jokingly thanked Popovich for getting ejected, as Hammon taking over the Spurs is an empowering, inspiring moment for women across the country.
Irving’s full comments on Hammon’s historic night: https://t.co/qgqeagYQXH pic.twitter.com/icJ5Yv9xsN
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) December 31, 2020
Irving might occasionally say something that raises the eyebrows of everyone in the room, but his actions with regards to helping Native American communities across this country, supporting HBCU students, and advocating for an increased feminine perspective in the modern NBA show that the label of frustrating locker room time bomb might be a bit misleading and unfair to someone who has given so much to help communities he holds dear.
