Irving irked China details leaked
Considering Kyrie Irving had spoken to the media only a couple of times since joining the Nets in June, many fans are still learning about their new star. But one thing is clear about Irving: He’s going to live his truth.
That meant speaking his mind to NBA commissioner Adam Silver in a closed-door meeting with players Oct. 9 regarding the NBA’s volatile situation in China. And that includes voicing his displeasure that the aforementioned conversation got out.
“No. 1, you want to keep those meetings private,” Irving said of the closed-door session in Shanghai. “I don’t know how it necessarily materialized into a big story.
“I don’t know whose notes or who was in there that we can’t depend on to keep a conversation like that in-house, especially when it’s about the NBA brand, as well as the players being impacted by it, as well as ownership or the Board of Governors and however the league goes.”
ESPN reported it had been Irving who asked aloud whether the Nets and Lakers should simply not play their scheduled games in Shanghai and Shenzhen due to the political tension being exerted by China’s communist government.
After Rockets general manager Daryl Morey had retweeted a meme supporting the Hong Kong protestors, the angered Chinese government canceled Nets and Lakers community events and press conferences, pulled games off TV and had banners promoting the games ripped down off buildings.
Irving’s boss — Taiwanese-born Nets owner Joe Tsai — has strong feelings about the Hong Kong protests. Tsai penned an open letter on Facebook saying the “territorial integrity of China and the country’s sovereignty over her homeland” was “non-negotiable.”
And though the Nets were muzzled by the Chinese government during their trip and have been mum since returning stateside, Irving didn’t hold his tongue when meeting with Silver.
“Listen, I stand for four things, man: inner peace, freedom, equality and world peace, man,” Irving said. “So if that’s being conflicted inside of me, I’m definitely going to have something to say, and I left it in that room.
“And Adam, my teammates — I obviously speak for myself — but we have a mutual respect of all the guys in the locker room. We talked about it as a team, we made a group decision and went forward to play the game. That’s just what it was.”
After playing the games in China, the drama followed the Nets halfway around the world back to Barclays Center. About 300 protesters wore shirts saying, “Stand with Hong Kong,” and chanted, “Shame on Joe Tsai,” in Friday night’s preseason finale against the Raptors.
The socially-conscious Irving understands how fans would protest about whatever they saw as an injustice. But he added he sees more than enough injustices here in the U.S. that need his attention.
“When you think about communities across the world, a lot of people would stand for world peace,” Irving said. “Government gets involved, it impacts different communities in different ways. And the reality is as individuals, it’s our job to stand up for what we believe in.
“Now, I understand Hong Kong and China is dealing with their issues, respectively. But there’s enough oppression going on in America for me not to be involved in the community issues here as well. That’s one of those four pillars that goes in terms of the black community, colored people here still in America: We’re fighting for everyday freedoms.
“So when I think about Hong Kong and China, the people are in an uproar. And for us as Americans to comment on it, African Americans or American Indians to comment on that, you’re connected nonetheless, especially when it impacts freedoms or world peace. So for me as an individual I stand up for those four pillars. And when they’re being conflicted I can understand why protestors come to the games.”
It’s worth noting Tsai’s wife — philanthropic investor and Nets co-owner Clara Wu Tsai — has donated millions to the Reform Alliance, the Jay-Z/Meek Mill effort for criminal justice reform.