As he exited the Boston Garden arena on Sunday, Kyrie Irving was on the receiving end of a water bottle throw by an ignorant fan. Prior to coming to Brooklyn, Kyrie played two seasons in Boston.
Now he makes his return playing against his former team in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. Following the incident, Kyrie reacted during his post-game interview.
“There is a certain point where it gets to be too much so I called it out. I just wanted to keep it strictly basketball but you see people feel very entitled out here. They pay for their ticket, great. I’m grateful that they are coming in to watch a great performance but we’re not at the theater. We are not throwing tomatoes and other random stuff at the people that are performing. It’s too much and it’s a reflection on us as a whole when you have fans acting like that. Hopefully, people learn their lessons from being banned or however many years of being arrested, but it’s always going to be an occasion.”
His teammate, Kevin Durant, sternly chimed in on the incident.
“Have some respect for the game. Have some respect for the human beings and have some respect for yourself,” says KD.
“Grow the f**k up and enjoy the game,” said Durant.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews reports that the fan at Boston Garden was charged with assault and battery.
This is the third fan to player abnormal act of disrespect that has occurred over the past week. A Philadelphia 76ers fan threw a bucket of popcorn on Russell Westbrook during Game 2. In addition, a Knicks fan spit on Trae Young during Game 2 of the Hawks & Knicks series. Those fans have been banned from the respective areans indefinitely.
