The NBA just cannot separate itself from politics.
It’s killing the league as ratings are down 45 percent since 2012.
The situation is getting worse as one NBA star just staged this insane political protest.
Brooklyn Nets Point Guard Kyrie Irving is one of the most politically active – yet at the same time, strangest – players in the league.
Irving reportedly argued against continuing the season last summer claiming finishing the regular season and playoffs would take away attention from the Black Lives Matter protests.
The star point guard also created a controversy by admitting he thought the earth was flat.
This year, Irving took several games off for personal reasons and was supposedly seen partying.
After the Nets 105-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, Irving claimed he did not want to answer questions about the game because of his stress over the growing conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.
“I’m not going to lie to you guys, a lot of stuff is going on in this world, and basketball is just not the most important thing to me right now,” Irving stated. “There’s a lot of things going on overseas. All our people are still in bondage across the world, and there’s a lot of dehumanization going on.”
“So I apologize if I’m not going to be focused on y’all’s questions. It’s just too much going on in the world for me to just be talking about basketball. I focus on this most of the time, 24/7, but it’s just too much going on in this world not to address,” Irving added.
Irving droned on claiming he was against the war overall without revealing which side he stood on, but it was not for critics to read between the lines and believe Irving’s sympathies lie with the Palestinians.
“It’s just sad to see this $%^& going on. It’s not just in Palestine, not just in Israel. It’s all over the world, and I feel it. I’m very compassionate to it — to all races, all cultures, and to see it, to see a lot of people being discriminated against, based on their religion, color of their skin, what they believe in. It’s just sad,” Irving added.
“I don’t care which way you stand on. Either side,” Irving continued, “if you’re a human being, then you support the anti-war effort. There’s a lot of people losing their lives – children, a lot of babies, and that’s just what I’m focused on.”
Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.