Kyrie Irving gave the middle finger to Boston Celtics fans during of Game 1 of the Brooklyn Nets first round playoff series — a game the Celtics would win on a buzzer-beating layup by Jayson Tatum. He was asked about it postgame, and he did not seem to regret his decision.
Fans at TD Garden were booing Irving and there was even a “Kyrie sucks” chant. Having played for the Celtics for two seasons, Irving knows the crowd and wasn’t surprised. However, his personality is also not one to remain quiet.
He was asked about the incident during the postgame press conference, and Irving answered by saying he just wanted to reciprocate the same energy the fans were giving him.
“It’s not every fan,” he said. “I don’t want to attack every Boston fan, but when people start yelling p—y, b—h and f–k you and all that, there is only so much you can take as a competitor.”
The Nets guard said he wasn’t really focused on what the fans were doing, and even described it as “fun.” He then added that as a competitor he relishes the crowds enthusiasm, but that this also means he wants to be able to do something about it. He acknowledged what was being said about him during the game through his body language, even doing some fake crying to make fun of it.
“All is fair in competition,” Irving said. “If somebody is going to call me out on my name, I’m going to look them straight in the eye and see if they are really about it. Most of the time they are not.”
