It’s been three days since Kyrie Irving held his final press conference of the playoffs, but that hasn’t stopped the Nets star from using a different platform to express his thoughts on and to the media.
The enigmatic point guard has been vocal on Twitter in the aftermath of Brooklyn’s season-ending loss on Monday, a defeat that completed a 4-0 first-round sweep in favor of Irving’s former team, the Celtics. But what began on Wednesday as a reflective overview of a disappointing season turned into something entirely different when the 30-year-old took to Twitter on Thursday morning.
Irving, the subject of much debate throughout the Nets’ eventful season, shared a scathing series of tweets offering his point of view on media companies and their intentions, race and spirituality. At one point, he even referred to the media as “puppet masters” and those documented by the media as “puppets.”
The former All-Star’s rant began shortly before 10 a.m. ET when he said the following.
9:49 a.m. ET: “When I see my name or my brothers/sisters names getting spun through the media, I refer to all my research about who they are. Their job is to CONTROL PUBLIC PERCEPTION, all while profiting off discussing, discrediting, and disrespecting people’s lives for entertainment.”
A few minutes later, Irving shared this follow-up to his previous tweet.
9:53 a.m. ET: “I send shots at the puppet masters, not the puppets. All puppets do is run around society, trying to gain popularity and state opinions. What a life! My name is worth billions to these media corporations. My brothers and sisters who deal with this know exactly what I mean.”
Irving continued to share his thoughts after a near 30-minute break, sending this tweet addressing his take on racism in society along with a GIF of iconic civil rights activist and comedian, the late Dick Gregory:
10:19 a.m. ET: “When you become free mentally and spiritually, there is not much this twisted/Racist society can surprise you with. My ancestors left behind all of the wisdom and truth for their agenda to be exposed. When you know exactly who they are, they can’t hide from their filth.”
Irving’s rant concluded seven minutes later with two tweets criticizing media corporations. The first condemned the group for what he described as “degrading” treatment being shown toward “BLACK/African/Indigenous community heroes.” He also vilified “all of the people who wake up everyday and report about people’s lives on TV and social media, and then profit off of them.” Irving has notably been a frequent topic of debate on various outlets and media platforms in recent years.
10:26 a.m. ET: “Alot of of these media corporations make their money by degrading BLACK/African/Indigenous community heroes. They thrive off of it, and then sell it back to us by having a hand selected person or group of people spark controversy about them for the world to see.”
Another tweet came just seconds later.
“Just Watch all of the people who wake up everyday and report about people’s lives on TV and social media, and then profit off of them. Then they justify their jobs by saying they get paid to say how they feel. Lol Its like these people live in a Fantasy.”
As has been the case multiple times in his career, the conversation centering around Irving in 2022 has been about subjects that extend beyond the game of basketball. And with the NBA champion’s up and down relationship with the media likely continuing to play a big role in his story, all eyes will be on Irving as he prepares to write his next chapter.
The Nets star has a $36.9 million player option for the 2022-23 season, which he could opt into before signing a three- or four-year extension this summer. However, if he opts out, Irving, who said Monday he’s staying in Brooklyn, will be eligible for a five-year, max extension, a deal that could earn him up to $245.6 million, per Spotrac.
