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Kyrie Irving deserves apology after being slammed for boycott call say fans as Bucks call off Game 5 vs Magic

Back in June, Irving suggested boycotting the current NBA season by saying, “I’m willing to give up everything I have (for social reform). I don’t support going into Orlando"

On Wednesday, August 26, in the aftermath of the Milwaukee Bucks deciding to boycott Game 5 against the Orlando Magic to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, NBA fans on Twitter started demanding that Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets player, get an apology. “Man Kyrie deserves a lot of apologies,” wrote a fan.

A bulk of the tweets were directed at sports columnist, reporter, and author Adrian Wojnarowski, nicknamed "Woj". On June 13, Wojnarowski had called Irving, “the disruptor”. Why? Irving, who is also the National Basketball Players Association vice president, that day had led a conference call that involved 80 players from both the NBA and the WNBA. Irving had said, “I’m willing to give up everything I have (for social reform). I don’t support going into Orlando. I’m not with the systematic racism and the bulls***. Something smells a little fishy. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are targeted as Black men every day we wake up.”

Irving had been vocal about injustice in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody. In the conference call, players discussed everything from the limitations of freedom in the proposed bubble, the value of the remaining season for many teams and players, the risk of sickness and injury, and the pain and anguish of communities throughout the country on the issues of police brutality and racial inequality. At that time, Irving’s idea of boycotting the NBA was met with some derision. Just like that from Wojnarowski.

The comment, “disruptor”, however, did not sit well with fans then and even now. So, when the Bucks decided to protest, Woj found himself being castigated by fans. “Woj called Kyrie a ‘disruptor’ for merely asking if this was a good idea,” wrote a Twitter user. 

Another pointed out, “Kyrie wanted to boycott the season for social reform and was endlessly slandered for it.”

“Kyrie Irving was clowned months ago for wanting to do what the NBA is currently doing,” wrote a Twitter account.

“I'll never forget people saying Kyrie was trying to stop LeBron from getting a ring by trying to stop the season like racial justice isn’t a bigger problem,” said a fan. 

Incidentally, LeBron James, in the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, wrote on Twitter, “F*** THIS MAN!!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE. SICK OF IT.”

One fan wrote, “But it was a lot of people saying Kyrie was bugging & the only reason he was saying all that cause he wasn’t playing & that he needs to shut up.... He deserves an apology cause he was RIGHT about everything he was saying.”

Another pointed out, “They labeled Kyrie Irving an idiot, crazy, selfish etc. when he even suggested sitting out. Now what? Kyrie is one of the best in the world, he loves hoop, but he was willing to put it away to shake the system up. Now it’s happening. Salute to him for having the vision.”

"Kyrie Irving was never a 'disruptor,' he was trying to be an uniter. And he was right," wrote another fan.