EThe dribbling ability of Kyrie Irving, one of the NBA’s best players in one-on-one, is amazing on the court. It contrasts with his clumsiness to get into all the puddles he sees off the track, where he is usually one against the majority. The Nets guard has one of the most eccentric personalities in the league, who has already given more than a headache with his behavior and conspiracy theories. Now he is immersed in the last one: that of vaccines against COVID-19.
Irving is the biggest star in the NBA who has not been vaccinated. And he doesn’t want to. The League does not bind players, although it is coaches, umpires, and franchise personnel. However, cities such as San Francisco and New York have established laws that require the complete guideline to be able to access closed venues with a large influx of public such as parties. The point guard is even considering playing only away games, except against the Warriors, who couldn’t either. It will cost him big for every one of his absences, and the Nets probably wouldn’t be worth having only half a player.
In addition to opposing the vaccination, Irving has begun to support conspiracy theories that have appeared on social media. The last one is that the vaccine is a secret society plan to connect black people to a master computer within a satanic plan. Like a sci-fi screenwriter. Unfortunately, it is not the first time that Irving has been associated with crazy ideas.
Some time ago he added to the theory that the Earth was flat, although afterwards he recoiled lukewarmly. He also claimed that President John Fitzgerald Kennedy had been assassinated because he wanted to harm the banks. And even that the CIA wanted to kill Bob Marley because he unites people through love and truth.
Controversy has also dogged him in basketball-related matters. Last season he missed seven games for the Nets without giving any explanation even to coach Steve Nash. “He had a lot of family and personal things, things that were happening. And I want to leave it at that,” he said as the only explanation. His departure from the Cavs, who selected him first in the 2011 draft, was also convulsive. He didn’t want to be in the shadow of LeBron James, although he won the ring with him in 2016.
He went to Boston, where he did not help harmonize in the locker room or meet the challenge of leading the team to the fight for the ring. On a visit to the Celtics’ pavilion he was seen burning sage before the game as trying to scare away evil spirits. It was a ritual to honor their Sioux origins. And he also refused to speak to journalists whom he came to describe as “puppets. Stop distracting me and appreciate the art. My attention is worth more.” All this being vice president of the NBA players union.
That B-side of Irving hides not only that of the decisive player (26.9 points on average last season) but also that of the committed citizen. He himself is in charge of putting the loudspeaker on his absurd beliefs and not on his social struggle. He was involved in the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement to the point of not going with the Nets to the Disney World bubble because he did not want basketball to divert attention from what he considered really important. It was the time when he came up with the crazy idea of creating a new League that would compete with the NBA.
The base also bought a house from the family of George Floyd, the African American killed by the police in Minnepolis before the season resumed in Orlando, has bought more than 250,000 meals for homeless citizens of New York, has donated large amounts of money to the organization ‘Feeding America’, gave 1.5 million dollars to help the WNBA players who were not in their bubble and who did not receive at that time, has paid university scholarships … All that, which is know. Exemplary behavior from an NBA star who has the dark side of conspiracy theories.
