Kevin Durant's tweet clarifying comments on Kyrie Irving gets Shannon Sharpe riled up: "No, bruh! You done stepped in it. Why didn’t you tweet that first if that’s what you felt!?"
After Kyrie Irving’s recent firestorm, many were expecting Kevin Durant to somehow grab a piece of the limelight. Durant’s statement about how the Brooklyn Nets could have just kept playing basketball and stayed quiet has already created a buzz of its own.
KD quickly clarified his original statement, saying that he wasn’t condoning hate speech and anti-Semitism.
Shannon Sharpe, upon hearing of the breaking tweet, lambasted Kevin Durant on “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed:”
“No, bruh! You done stepped in it. Why didn’t you tweet that first if that’s what you felt!? Why didn’t you tweet that? Somebody then got to him and said, ‘KD, you stepped in it, and now you gotta clean your shoes up.’ That’s what happened!”
(Starts at the 10:00 mark)
The Brooklyn Nets finally decided to indefinitely suspend Kyrie Irving. In an official statement, the team called Irving “unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.” He will remain suspended until he has fulfilled “objective remedial measures.”
Statement from the Brooklyn Nets https://t.co/699px8XYpx
The Nets received a ton of flak for failing to hand down punishment on Irving over the past few days. It wasn’t until another round of media questioning where the mercurial point guard still refused to apologize and denied anti-Semitic beliefs when the suspension was declared.
Before Kevin Durant’s tweet came out, he was interviewed after practice and said:
“I’m not here to judge somebody or talk down on the life or how they feel their views. I just didn't like anything that went on. I felt like it was all unnecessary. I felt like we could have just kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organization.”
Kevin Durant speaks after Kyrie Irving suspension: "I'm not here to judge anybody" https://t.co/WDWIi9DwBI
After backlash started to rain on the Brooklyn Nets forward, Kevin Durant clarified his previous statement:
“Just wanna clarify the statements I made at shootaround, I see some people are confused..I don’t condone hate speech or anti-semetism, I’m about spreading love always. Our game Unites people and I wanna make sure that’s at the forefront”
Just wanna clarify the statements I made at shootaround, I see some people are confused..I don’t condone hate speech or anti-semetism, I’m about spreading love always. Our game Unites people and I wanna make sure that’s at the forefront
Kevin Durant continues to fail in holding Kyrie Irving accountable
Kyrie Irving has proven to be the most controversial figure in the Brooklyn Nets' history. But as frustrating as Irving has been, it may pale in comparison to what Kevin Durant has done about his buddy’s off-court drama.
For about two years, KD has staunchly refused to hold Irving accountable for his actions. Even when the Nets lost their lofty championship aspirations, mainly due to Irving’s vaccine status, Durant never chided him.
Irving’s latest brouhaha simply cannot be ignored and kept quiet. It hasn’t been just the basketball world that has ripped the superstar point guard, but just about everyone who condemns hate and anti-Semitism.
Here's what Kendrick Perkins thinks KD should have done instead of asking the Nets to keep things quiet:
"If I'm Kevin Durant at this moment, this is the appropriate time to go and walk into Sean Marks' office and ask him to trade me. ... Kevin Durant is wasting time, wasting greatness."
Durant is loyal to a fault, but this time, he should have finally seen the light. The Brooklyn Nets ultimately had enough by suspending Kyrie Irving. One has to imagine how long KD will stand by his buddy who has arguably cost him already one decent run at the championship.