Official Welcome Home Kyrie Thread

[Rich Rane]

What has the race thing he is bringing up to do with finishing the season? How about you read this...

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/h7su6x/jared_dudley_ive_done_interviews_taking_about/

The players would get shafted afterwards, if the season is cancelled. Do your regular joes have the same luxury that Kyrie demands? They have to do their jobs without being in a bubble and getting daily tested.

I'm not sure if he understands what would happen afterwards. I think this time the owners would have the upper hand, if the CBA deal gets ripped up and the players would be in shambles. Especially in times like these, getting paid like usual could help funding BLM or other movements.

I wonder if you would have the same reaction, if Kyrie was still playing for the Celtics.

Kyrie isn't the only player saying that they should hit the pause button, but go off.

And NBA players don't have to fund anything. The movement for Black equality and to end police brutality doesn't rely on their money...this is such a disingenuous take from someone who only cares about watching basketball and nothing else.

"The race thing", huh? Way to tell on yourself dude.

Yeah as a foreigner in germany I totally outed myself lol. Especially since I had to deal with everydays racissm my whole life here.

I've actually been watching basketball since last week, as the german basketball league pulled off what the NBA plans to do, on a lower scale in Munich (that's a german city). Players who didn't want to play and stay in the united states got their contracts waived and most likely received their salaries while they were at home and because of that, the teams were allowed to sign 2 replacement players.

Germany also handled COVID-19 better than the rest of the EU and the US.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate.html

The NBA won't even test the staff at the proposed bubble, which further opens up further risk.

Read on Twitter

The german football league has also started a couple weeks ago and many more league are have started this week. And wasn't he talking about, the NBA returning for 3 months in one place for entertainment purposes would look poorly. I mean what does he think the NBA and other leagues are supposed to be if not entertainment?

I mean if Kyrie thinks the NBA is trying to undermine the BLM movement and keep black people down, he could flat out retire and not accept their dirty money, couldn't he? He earned more than enough and could use the time in his hand to educate people on police brutality, racism and maybe the earth shape.

I bet most americans would kill right now, to be able to work in a bubble while getting tested everyday.

The entire world has its eyes on racism at the moment and for this country with its attention span to finally come to grips with its racist present and history is a watershed moment that hasn't happened since the 1960s. The country isn't distracted by sports, work, movies, new episodes of TV. This is on their timeline when it comes to social media, not some silent protest or interview they could easily pass through with that same player's highlight.

[MrDollarBills]

What has the race thing he is bringing up to do with finishing the season? How about you read this...

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/h7su6x/jared_dudley_ive_done_interviews_taking_about/

The players would get shafted afterwards, if the season is cancelled. Do your regular joes have the same luxury that Kyrie demands? They have to do their jobs without being in a bubble and getting daily tested.

I'm not sure if he understands what would happen afterwards. I think this time the owners would have the upper hand, if the CBA deal gets ripped up and the players would be in shambles. Especially in times like these, getting paid like usual could help funding BLM or other movements.

I wonder if you would have the same reaction, if Kyrie was still playing for the Celtics.

Kyrie isn't the only player saying that they should hit the pause button, but go off.

And NBA players don't have to fund anything. The movement for Black equality and to end police brutality doesn't rely on their money...this is such a disingenuous take from someone who only cares about watching basketball and nothing else.

"The race thing", huh? Way to tell on yourself dude.

Yeah as a foreigner in germany I totally outed myself lol. Especially since I had to deal with everydays racissm my whole life here.

I've actually been watching basketball since last week, as the german basketball league pulled off what the NBA plans to do, on a lower scale in Munich (that's a german city). Players who didn't want to play and stay in the united states got their contracts waived and most likely received their salaries while they were at home and because of that, the teams were allowed to sign 2 replacement players.

The german football league has also started a couple weeks ago and many more league are have started this week. And wasn't he talking about, the NBA returning for 3 months in one place for entertainment purposes would look poorly. I mean what does he think the NBA and other leagues are supposed to be if not entertainment?

I mean if Kyrie thinks the NBA is trying to undermine the BLM movement and keep black people down, he could flat out retire and not accept their dirty money, couldn't he? He earned more than enough and could use the time in his hand to educate people on police brutality, racism and maybe the earth shape.

I bet most americans would kill right now, to be able to work in a bubble while getting tested everyday.

Kyrie is not saying that the NBA is trying to undermine BLM or subjugate Black Americans. That is a straw man. His stance is that the league returning could serve as a distraction at a moment in this country's history where people have finally, FINALLY realized that Black Americans are treated like dog **** by our police officers and by society at large. I know, because I'm one of them. So I understand exactly why Kyrie is doing this, because if the foot gets taken off of the gas pedal, nothing will change.

You can belittle him all you want, but one thing Kyrie Irving has never been is a fraud when it comes to speaking out about social injustices that America continues to carry out against Black and Indigenous People of Color. I support him and any other player who takes this stance without question.

[MrDollarBills]

And what is that supposed to mean.

"There’s only 20 guys actually getting paid, and I’m part of that," Irving said on the call, according to Goodman. "Let’s not pretend there’s not a tiered system purposely to divide all of us.”

So Lillard is not in the top 20 of the highest paid players and he is making 29,8 million. Man that must be nice to hear as an NBA fan, who is the reason why they get paid so much. Has he become a socialist? I mean if he thinks there is a tiered system to divide all NBA players, he could have taken a pay cut and let the other free agents you guys signed split the money to make a stand and show the owners the middle finger.

He is stating the truth. There is clearly a divide between max level guys, middle level and lower tier players. This divide always rears its head during labor disputes or CBA negotiations. The NFL just went through this where the owners put in incentives in the labor agreement that benefited the lower rung players and the high profile guys who are set for life balked at it in public.

Either way, it is clear you only care about Kyrie and the other players (who you are ignoring for some reason) getting in the way of you being able to watch the NBA at the end of next month, and not the issue that is at the core of all of this. Irving isn't trying to hold up the NBA's return because he's an ass hole, it's actually about something bigger and more important than your goddamn entertainment

[MrDollarBills]

Kyrie isn't the only player saying that they should hit the pause button, but go off.

And NBA players don't have to fund anything. The movement for Black equality and to end police brutality doesn't rely on their money...this is such a disingenuous take from someone who only cares about watching basketball and nothing else.

"The race thing", huh? Way to tell on yourself dude.

Yeah as a foreigner in germany I totally outed myself lol. Especially since I had to deal with everydays racissm my whole life here.

I've actually been watching basketball since last week, as the german basketball league pulled off what the NBA plans to do, on a lower scale in Munich (that's a german city). Players who didn't want to play and stay in the united states got their contracts waived and most likely received their salaries while they were at home and because of that, the teams were allowed to sign 2 replacement players.

Germany also handled COVID-19 better than the rest of the EU and the US.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate.html

The NBA won't even test the staff at the proposed bubble, which further opens up further risk.

Read on Twitter

The german football league has also started a couple weeks ago and many more league are have started this week. And wasn't he talking about, the NBA returning for 3 months in one place for entertainment purposes would look poorly. I mean what does he think the NBA and other leagues are supposed to be if not entertainment?

I mean if Kyrie thinks the NBA is trying to undermine the BLM movement and keep black people down, he could flat out retire and not accept their dirty money, couldn't he? He earned more than enough and could use the time in his hand to educate people on police brutality, racism and maybe the earth shape.

I bet most americans would kill right now, to be able to work in a bubble while getting tested everyday.

The entire world has its eyes on racism at the moment and for this country with its attention span to finally come to grips with its racist present and history is a watershed moment that hasn't happened since the 1960s. The country isn't distracted by sports, work, movies, new episodes of TV. This is on their timeline when it comes to social media, not some silent protest or interview they could easily pass through with that same player's highlight.

And this is another issue, player health and safety. Florida, due to Rick Scott's absolute ineptitude in an attempt to appease Donald Trump, is seeing a spike in infections. It will continue to increase. If one, just one, NBA player or coach ends up hospitalized it will be a PR nightmare from the league. As much as I would love to see hoops, I dont want anyone to die for the sake of capitalism and entertainment

[DaddyCool19]

The protests will most likely slow down quite a bit once the NBA returns. I mean it's nearly 6 weeks away and protests normally don't keep it up that long. The movement in the end probably forces the police and governments to little changes and that will be the end of it as usual in nearly every place in the world.

I don't get how the NBA would be a distraction. There will be millions of viewers and you could use that platform to voice your opinion. The football and basketball league here used to be against political stances and even they allowed players speaking out against police brutality, as they didn't view it as something political, but as human rights.

Some players (even non black ones) are kneeling after scoring a goal, others are wearing armbands(and shirts with the same message under their jerseys) with messages like justice for George Floyd or BLM and that stuff always end up in the news. So I don't get the distraction part, as the players could use the spotlight to do things before, during and after the games for 3 whole months.

[MrDollarBills]

we are seeing images and video daily where police are brutalizing Americans who are taking a stand. It's not just Black people who are getting beaten down and gassed, it is also white Americans too. 76 year old man got his skull cracked open by the thug cops in upstate NY. A young white woman died because she was tear gassed and her respiratory system couldn't handle it. This is a time in America where everyone is seeing the truth about this country and if it means that an NBA season has to be canceled to help keep people's minds on systemic change, so be it.

I support Kyrie Irving.

[MrDollarBills]

The protests will most likely slow down quite a bit once the NBA returns. I mean it's nearly 6 weeks away and protests normally don't keep it up that long. The movement in the end probably forces the police and governments to little changes and that will be the end of it as usual in nearly every place in the world.

I don't get how the NBA would be a distraction. There will be millions of viewers and you could use that platform to voice your opinion. The football and basketball league here used to be against political stances and even they allowed players speaking out against police brutality, as they didn't view it as something political, but as human rights.

Some players (even non black ones) are kneeling after scoring a goal, others are wearing armbands(and shirts with the same message under their jerseys) with messages like justice for George Floyd or BLM and that stuff always end up in the news. So I don't get the distraction part, as the players could use the spotlight to do things before, during and after the games for 3 whole months.

Americans have the attention span of a 2 month old puppy. Unless the NBA is going to allow players to use the season resumption as a platform to spread awareness and support for the protests and systemic change, I dont see how it won't be a distraction.

Some Americans believe that they can just do performative actions like posting a black box on Instagram and think that will help change things. It doesn't work like that. The unrest needs to continue, the uncomfortable conversations need to continue. This, just like COVID-19, isn't going to magically go away. People are fed up. I'm tired of living in fear of police, I'm tired of walking on eggshells around white people. Everyone is tired of this bull ****.

[MGrand15]

When the lock down started, people specifically wanted the NBA back as a distraction from all the terrible things going on. Now that Kyrie said the NBA would be a distraction from the movement, people have no idea what he's talking about? How could the NBA possibly be a distraction? Are y'all serious?

I swear when it comes to Kyrie - the WORST in people comes out. Picking at every sentence, every word. Disregarding context. Calling him all types of names. All the dog whistles come out. Bad faith arguments.

The reality is that if this was ONLY Kyrie then this wouldn't be an issue at all. He specifically said if everyone else wanted to go back, he'd be on board. A lot of players agree with him or have similar concerns. I think they should play and figure out a way to use the bubble to their advantage but if you don't see where he and the rest of the players are coming from, IDK what to tell you.

[MrDollarBills]

:lol: When the lock down started, people specifically wanted the NBA back as a distraction from all the terrible things going on. Now that Kyrie said the NBA would be a distraction from the movement, people have no idea what he's talking about? How could the NBA possibly be a distraction? Are y'all serious?

I swear when it comes to Kyrie - the WORST in people comes out. Picking at every sentence, every word. Disregarding context. Calling him all types of names. All the dog whistles come out. Bad faith arguments.

The reality is that if this was ONLY Kyrie then this wouldn't be an issue at all. He specifically said if everyone else wanted to go back, he'd be on board. A lot of players agree with him or have similar concerns. I think they should play and figure out a way to use the bubble to their advantage but if you don't see where he and the rest of the players are coming from, IDK what to tell you.

I'm glad you pointed out the racist dog whistling going on here on RealGM and not me.

I'm glad I'm banned from the GB. It's like a Klan rally on there right now.

This is a post from a poster who routinely posts on this forum(meaning, the Nets forum) about Dzanan Musa:

players are professionals and they should act like that, if the nba wants to play, franchises have to play and therefore, players have to play, so yeah, as far as im concerned, those rich **** should just: "shut up and dribble!"

Massa wants his Black minstrels to entertain him, and by god those negroes better get their asses down to Florida and do it!

[kamaze]

They mean well but it is what it is this is an ugly country and I don't believe anything we as citizens do will change anything. Cops are still attacking people; a black man was executed in Atlanta; things are getting worse.

MDB you ready to ride?

[Rich Rane]

They mean well but it is what it is this is an ugly country and I don't believe anything we as citizens do will change anything. Cops are still attacking people; a black man was executed in Atlanta; things are getting worse.

MDB you ready to ride?

Slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, civil rights...sometimes the answer to racism isn't to kick the can further down the road. If things are getting worse, the answer can't be "Oh well."

[kamaze]

They mean well but it is what it is this is an ugly country and I don't believe anything we as citizens do will change anything. Cops are still attacking people; a black man was executed in Atlanta; things are getting worse.

MDB you ready to ride?

Slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, civil rights...sometimes the answer to racism isn't to kick the can further down the road. If things are getting worse, the answer can't be "Oh well."

The things you mentioned should further let you know that racism is engrained in this country. It's as amerikkkan as apple pie.

The best thing my people did against police brutality was form the Black Panthers to make sure there was no police brutality. They were educated had a plan and were serious. People knew that and were afraid of them.

When your oppressor is abusing you the answer isn't to protest.
When a school bully punches you you punch him back not run to the teacher.

[Rich Rane]

They mean well but it is what it is this is an ugly country and I don't believe anything we as citizens do will change anything. Cops are still attacking people; a black man was executed in Atlanta; things are getting worse.

MDB you ready to ride?

Slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, civil rights...sometimes the answer to racism isn't to kick the can further down the road. If things are getting worse, the answer can't be "Oh well."

The things you mentioned should further let you know that racism is engrained in this country. It's as amerikkkan as apple pie.

The best thing my people did against police brutality was form the Black Panthers to make sure there was no police brutality. They were educated had a plan and were serious. People knew that and were afraid of them.

When your oppressor is abusing you the answer isn't to protest.
When a school bully punches you you punch him back not run to the teacher.

It's fine fighting off a bully. I would say the bigger picture is to have a complicit teacher (along with the principal and the school district and further and further up the ladder) be held accountable for allowing the bullying to happen.

[kamaze]

Slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, civil rights...sometimes the answer to racism isn't to kick the can further down the road. If things are getting worse, the answer can't be "Oh well."

The things you mentioned should further let you know that racism is engrained in this country. It's as amerikkkan as apple pie.

The best thing my people did against police brutality was form the Black Panthers to make sure there was no police brutality. They were educated had a plan and were serious. People knew that and were afraid of them.

When your oppressor is abusing you the answer isn't to protest.
When a school bully punches you you punch him back not run to the teacher.

It's fine fighting off a bully. I would say the bigger picture is to have a complicit teacher (along with the principal and the school district and further and further up the ladder) be held accountable for allowing the bullying to happen.

Amerikkka is the bully.

[Rich Rane]

The things you mentioned should further let you know that racism is engrained in this country. It's as amerikkkan as apple pie.

The best thing my people did against police brutality was form the Black Panthers to make sure there was no police brutality. They were educated had a plan and were serious. People knew that and were afraid of them.

When your oppressor is abusing you the answer isn't to protest.
When a school bully punches you you punch him back not run to the teacher.

It's fine fighting off a bully. I would say the bigger picture is to have a complicit teacher (along with the principal and the school district and further and further up the ladder) be held accountable for allowing the bullying to happen.

Amerikkka is the bully.

Fine. My point stands. You can fight the country's racist grunts, but the solution can't be kicking the can down the road and saying "Oh well." Some sort of noticeable gain should be fought for right now.

[kamaze]

I just realized I was going back and forth with a white guy telling me a black man how to confront racism in this country. Unbelievable.

[MrDollarBills]

They mean well but it is what it is this is an ugly country and I don't believe anything we as citizens do will change anything. Cops are still attacking people; a black man was executed in Atlanta; things are getting worse.

MDB you ready to ride?

The protests are working, despite the killings and brutality. Public opinion has shifted dramatically in support of ending systemic racism. It will take time, but i see that finally white people are waking up and realizing what has been happening to us. People are finally listening. That is huge. Compare the public opinion now to when Colin Kaepernick's protest was ongoing. Things have changed, it's just unfortunate it took someone's death to trigger it.

[MrDollarBills]

It's fine fighting off a bully. I would say the bigger picture is to have a complicit teacher (along with the principal and the school district and further and further up the ladder) be held accountable for allowing the bullying to happen.

Amerikkka is the bully.

Fine. My point stands. You can fight the country's racist grunts, but the solution can't be kicking the can down the road and saying "Oh well." Some sort of noticeable gain should be fought for right now.

The time is now, which is what Kyrie realizes. I'm proud of him because he knew by doing this he would be assailed and yet he persisted.

[Rich Rane]

I just realized I was going back and forth with a white guy telling me a black man how to confront racism in this country. Unbelievable.

You're talking about me? I'm white?

[kamaze]

They mean well but it is what it is this is an ugly country and I don't believe anything we as citizens do will change anything. Cops are still attacking people; a black man was executed in Atlanta; things are getting worse.

MDB you ready to ride?

The protests are working, despite the killings and brutality. Public opinion has shifted dramatically in support of ending systemic racism. It will take time, but i see that finally white people are waking up and realizing what has been happening to us. People are finally listening. That is huge. Compare the public opinion now to when Colin Kaepernick's protest was ongoing. Things have changed, it's just unfortunate it took someone's death to trigger it.

Yeah some progress has been made I just don't have the energy to fight this any more. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.