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NEW YORK (77 WABC) – If Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets had been hoping an ESPN report about his mood swings would blow over on Wednesday, they were mistaken.
The story was still a topic of conversation after the Nets fell to the Indiana Pacers 118-108 At Barclays Center. The day prior a lengthy ESPN feature reported that Irvings mood swings were an “unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy.”
In the same story, it was reported that an incident had already occurred during the Nets trip to China.
“Who cares what ESPN says or anyone says,” Iriving said after the game. “History has shown you can be the best teammate ever and someone is still going to say something negative about what youre doing and how you approach your life. That cant be the importance.”
Irving later added: “I kind of expect that at this point for everybody to say things like that and Im going to keep on smiling, and doing me.”
Kyrie Irving addresses the ESPN report regarding his behavior:
“I just go back to the importance of self-love, who cares what anyone says?…They try to tear down some of the most peaceful people in the world.” pic.twitter.com/IexCB4TgMm
— SNY (@SNYtv) October 31, 2019
Hours after the report was published on Tuesday, many of Irvings new teammates in Brooklyn defended him and Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson called the ESPN report false. Asked about it again on Wednesday, Atkinson doubled down on his stance.
“I know all these elite players, not just Kyrie, are used to the scrutiny,” Atkinson said before the game. “Its just part of the business. Its just what it is. I didnt feel a need to talk to him about it.”
Irving had picked up a reputation during his time in Cleveland and Boston during his eight-year career. Former teammates had painted Irving as someone who has mood swings and as a person who has a peculiar behavior behind closed doors.
The Nets guard admitted that in the past he had spent time worrying about the public perception of him, but that has changed.
“Thats another root of human struggle is worrying about other peoples perceptions of who you are,” Iriving told the large group of reporters huddled around him. “Why would you ever care about that. … Im not here to dispel anything. You can continue to ask other people around me about what they think about me. You can continue to write about mood swings. Human beings have mood swings.
“You go home and youre not happy about things or youre mad or youre happy, thats a mood swing. Its okay to be human. I dont have to be perfect for anyone here, nor do I have to be perfect for the public. Im not here to dispel any perception. Im just here to be myself.”
