Kyrie Irving made the rounds for promoting an anti-semitic documentary on Twitter. The Brooklyn Nets suspended him without pay for failing to apologize for it, but heās finally back on the court with them.
However, plenty of people around the NBA had plenty to say about Irvingās reckless tweet. Unsurprisingly, that includes Hall of Famer duo Charles Barkley and Shaquille OāNeal, who called him an idiot.
So, naturally, several Irving fans took offense in Shaqās comments and insults. Thatās why the four-time NBA champion took some time to explain why he said what he said and why he still stands by those words.
NBA News: Shaq Explains Why He Called Kyrie Irving An Idiot
āA lot of people took offense with what I said because a lot of times you listen, but you listen through emotions,ā Shaq said on his podcast. āWhen I said āidiot,ā I meant you canāt do anything thatās going to blemish your name, you personally! You personally canāt blemish or tarnish your name, your legacy, your career.ā
āI donāt mess with peopleās religions and what they do,ā Shaq continued. āYou believe what you believe and you stand on what you believe, thatās what youāre supposed to do. But when you put yourself in jeopardy, you gotta be smarter than that. And thatās all what I was saying when I said āidiot.'ā
āA lot of us when we get this money and we get these followers, we think we know everything. Social media is a powerful tool but you have to practice some type of responsibility with that,ā the Big Diesel concluded.
What Irving did was objectively wrong, but that doesnāt give Shaq the right to insult him. Still, Kyrie should be more responsible when thinking about the things he shares on social media, given how massive his platform is.
