Brooklyn Nets announced that point guard Kyrie Irving was out against the 76ers for personal reasons on Thursday, and coach Steve Nash did not hear from the All-Star before the launch.
He said at a news conference that when he learned that Irving was out, he reached out to the 28-year-old. According The Athleticfrom Joe Vardon, a source said Irving is “OK”, but his return schedule is unclear.
It is not known at this time why Irving is out and did not respond to his head coach on Thursday night; however, events from the past 48 hours may have influenced it.
On January 5, the district attorney for Kenosha County (Wisc.) Decided not to prosecute the police officer who shot Jacob Blake, leaving him paralyzed. The shooting took place on August 23, 2020, three months after George Floyd’s death while being violently restrained by police in Minneapolis.
Floyd’s death sparked protests around the world, while the Black Lives Matter movement fought and defended social and racial justice.
This summer, Irving was opposed to the bubble’s restart in the midst of racial injustice, and led a call of more than 80 players in June before the restart. He advocated that players focus on social injustices after Floyd’s death.
“I don’t support going to Orlando,” he told the players, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. “I don’t have systematic racism and bulls – t.”
After Blake’s shooting, NBA and WNBA players chose not to participate in several games in protest. Several teams, like the Milwaukee Bucks, released statements after the news from Kenosha.
“The Bucks organization remains firmly against the excessive use of force by law enforcement,” says the statement. “Last year, it shed light on the ongoing racial injustices facing our African Americans and other marginalized communities … As an organization, we remain strongly committed to resolving issues of social injustice and anti-racism and to making significant changes for Afro Americans and all marginalized members of our community. “
LeBron James, Irving’s former teammate, spoke about the promoter’s decision during his post-game interview on Tuesday.
“Hearing what happened in Kenosha today was a blow to the heart and stomach”, James said. “Not only for that community, but for us and for every black person that has been part of this process and seeing these results for so long. And not only in the black community, but also in the white community, which sees moments like this happened to us, it happened to his family, it happened to the boy himself. ”Seeing that verdict was a blow to the stomach and a blow to the heart.
“We need to remain strong, to continue to believe in each other and to fight for the greatest of change and the greatest good.”
Several NBA teams – the Heat, Celtics, Bucks and Pistons – reacted before and during their games on Wednesday night.
“To be honest,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens, “at 30 minutes I didn’t think we were going to play.”
The Miami and Boston players released a statement before the game and knelt down during the national anthem.
“2021 is a new year, but some things haven’t changed”, the statement read. “The drastic difference between the way that last spring and summer protesters were treated and the encouragement given to today’s protesters who acted illegally only shows how much work we still have to do.
“We decided to play tonight’s game to try to bring joy to people’s lives. But we must not forget the injustices in our society and we will continue to use our voice and our platform to highlight these issues and do everything we can to work for an America more equal and fair. #BLACKLIVESSTILLMATTER “
The Milwaukee and Detroit players passed the starting line-up, took the ball off the field and knelt as one.