"Luka gotta deal with this clown everyday" - Kyrie Irving extolling unvaxxed Novak Djokovic's US Open win has fans taking a dig at him
Kyrie Irving went viral again Tuesday when he took to social media to comment on Novak Djokovic's win in the U.S. Open.
Djokovic claimed the 24th Grand Slam title of his career, and Irving posted on Instagram that the Serbian star player won despite being unvaccinated.
"Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic won the US Open. He won and we will too," the first story says.
Five minutes later he posted a second one writing "damn you right about all these conspiracy theories over the years, I thought you crazy."
His Instagram stories went viral, with fans calling him out for his comments. Some told the Dallas Mavericks to trade him, while others said he should stop spreading conspiracy theories and focus on basketball.
"Luka gotta deal with this clown everyday," a Twitter user posted.
"Mavs gon have a rough season," another one wrote.
"Mavs season doomed," a user tweeted.
"Kyrie stay the hell out of politics and play ball," another user wrote.
"Mavs Downfall here we go again," a Twitter user posted.
"Just go ahead and ask for the trade now Luka. No one will judge you, it's for the best," another one tweeted.
"Covid is over bro we don’t care," another user tweeted.
"What exactly has kyrie been 'right' about at any point in his life?" a user tweeted.
Kyrie Irving's NBA drama after not getting Covid-19 vaccine
Kyrie Irving's COVID-19 vaccination theories created a lot of drama in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
Once the vaccine became available, some areas made it mandatory for fans, players, executives and team personnel who would enter arenas for NBA games to have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
New York City and Canada were two of those areas, so Kyrie Irving, who never got vaccinated, was not allowed to play in the Brooklyn Nets' home games for most of the 2021-22 season. He could join the team for road games and eventually did so in January 2022.
However, being ineligible to play in home games until late in the season when New York City's vaccine mandate was adjusted cost the Nets a good shot at the title and led to a first-round playoff exit after loss to the Boston Celtics.
"This is my life," Irving said in October 2021, via ESPN. 'I get to do whatever I want with this, this is one body that I get here. And you are telling me what to do with my body. ... This has everything to do with what is going on in our world. And I am being grouped into something that is bigger than just the game of basketball.
"I am staying grounded in what I believe in. It is as simple as that. It is not about being anti-vax or about being on one side or the other. It is just really about being true to what feels good for me. I know the consequences of the decisions that I make with my life. I am not here to sugarcoat any of that."
Irving is now preparing for his first full season with the Dallas Mavericks, aiming to bring the franchise back to the title picture after a disappointing 2022-23 season.