During his Brooklyn Nets game against the Boston Celtics on Sunday, Kyrie Irving had some interesting choice of words for Celtics fans who booed him from the stands.
“I know it’s going to be like that the rest of my career coming in here. It’s like the scorned girlfriend who wants an explanation on why I left but still hoping for a text back,” he said after the game. “I’m just like, ‘It was fun while it lasted.’”
Additionally, he said he appreciated his time in Boston, and he's still in good terms with some former teammates. “I just got to lock in on the mission, stay focused, and not try to have too many conversations with the fans on the side when they call me out by name," Irving added.
Irving played for the Celtics for two seasons before departing acrimoniously in 2019, it should come as no surprise that he received some hate. Toward the end of the game, Celtics fans led a "Kyrie sucks" chant, despite Jayson Tatum's attempts to calm them down.
Throughout the season, Irving has faced criticism due to his anti-vaccine stance, which has currently prevented him from playing in Brooklyn. Stephen A. Smith recently wrote about visiting players being able to play at the Barclays Center without being vaccinated, but Irving cannot.
“Kyrie Irving should have never been prevented or prohibited from playing a game at the Barclays Center this season," he said on a recent episode of First Take, in which he also noted his previous criticism of Irving's anti-vaccine stance. "Either you have to be vaccinated in order to play in an indoor facility in New York, or not.”