Kyrie Irving Claps Back At Boston Celtics Fans Who Called Him A “P*ssy” And “B*tch” Following Game 1 Loss

Update: 3:45 p.m. ET (April 20, 2022) – Kyrie Irving has been fined $50,000 by the NBA “for making obscene gestures on the playing court and directing profane language toward the spectator stands,” according to Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.

Read the original story below…

More from VIBE.com

• Jamie Foxx Blasts Stephen A. Smith Over Comments About NBA Star Ben Simmons

• J.R. Smith Says NBA Players "Was Blowing It Down" In The 2020 NBA Bubble

• Carmelo Anthony Awarded Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy As Social Justice Champion

– –

Brooklyn Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving has responded to reports of verbal exchanges between himself and Boston Celtics fans during and after the Net’s Game 1 loss in their 1st Round matchup with the Celtics. After being booed on multiple occasions throughout the game, Irving, who played two seasons for the Celtics before unceremoniously bolting for Brooklyn in free agency ahead of the 2019–2020 NBA season, was seen giving Boston fans the middle finger on at least two occasions. He was reportedly heard telling another fan to “suck my d**k” before entering the visiting team’s locker room.

During the postgame presser, when asked about what one reporter deemed as the crowd’s “hostile” interaction with him, Irving refused to agree to that description, while alleging that fans had shouted expletives at him, including “p*ssy” and “b*tch.” “When people start yelling p*ssy and b*tch and f*ck you, there’s only so much you can take as a competitor,” said Irving. “Nah f*ck that, ‘That’s the playoffs, it is what it is.’ I know what to expect in here and I’m ready to give the same energy back to them.”

Describing his exchanges with Celtics fans as “fun,” Irving attributed the tense interactions as a byproduct of playoff basketball and reiterated his willingness to engage the hecklers. “This isn’t my first time in TD Garden, so what you guys saw and what you guys think is entertainment or the fans think is entertainment, all is fair in competition,” the former NBA champion added. “So if somebody’s gonna call me out of my name, imma look at them straight in the eye and see if they’re really about it. Most of the time they’re not.”

Irving also compared Celtics fans’ ire toward him to that of a former lover who can’t get over being rejected and continues to search for closure after the fact. “I know it’s going to be like that the rest of my career coming in here. It’s like the scorned girlfriend who wants an explanation on why I left but still hoping for a text back,” he explained. “I’m just like, ‘It was fun while it lasted.’”

Game 2 of the 1st Round playoff series between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics takes place on Wednesday (April 20) at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Click here to read the full article.