Colin Sheridan: Kyrie Irving on the precipice of a self-inflicted abyss

Irving, long a self-professed 'free thinker', has previously stated he believes the earth is flat, and refused to be vaccinated against Covid 19 - leading to him missing 35 games last year

APOLOGY: Kyrie Irving. Pic: Dustin Satloff/Getty Images

If you’re from Ahascragh or Annascaul, the name Kyrie Irving may mean little or nothing to you, but it might mean something to your basketball obsessed teenage son or daughter. To them, he is perhaps a genius player for the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA, a generational talent who seemed half way to fulfilling his ridiculous promise until recent events amplified cracks in dubious facade. 

Irving long seemed destined for greatness - number 1 pick in the draft. Rookie of the Year. Championship winning shot in a LeBron-led team. He even had his own Nike shoe, all by the notional midpoint of his career. Such riches were justifiably earned, for Irving is an alchemist with a basketball.

Undersized at 6’2, he has long compensated with a handle (dribbling skills), a shot, and a passing game that many predicted would see him go down as one of the greatest players to ever play. Unwilling to act in support of the aforementioned James in Cleveland, Irving first moved to Boston in an attempt to win with his own team, then to Brooklyn, where he teamed up with Kevin Durant. Given his immense talent and singular mentality, that self-belief coupled with his genius made anything possible.

Instead, he now finds himself standing on the precipice of a self-inflicted abyss, not because of a failure to handle fame, not because of spurned wealth or a dependance on drugs or alcohol.

No, ever the outlier, Irving has voluntarily compromised his career and reputation by once again aligning himself with conspiracy theories, the latest of which saw him post a link to a 2018 film, Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, to his 17.6m Instagram followers and 4.6m on Twitter, and then failing to disassociate himself from the more incendiary and anti-semitic elements of the contoversial movie. 

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the film is an “effort to ‘prove’ the Black Hebrew Israelite (BHI) belief that certain people of color, including Black Americans, are the true descendants of the biblical Israelites” and “promotes beliefs commonly found among antisemitic and extremist factions of the BHI movement, including claims that modern Jews are impostors who stole the religious heritage of Black people”. 

The fallout from the post - which, it needs to be emphasised, was not endorsed by Irving, just shared - was such that, following a week of backlash, Irving - who initially refused to apologise - was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets, who said last Thursday the player was “currently unfit to be associated” with the team.

The suspension came after a messy week for all parties involved - the player, the team, the NBA and the media. Irving, long a self-professed “free thinker” who has previously stated he believes the earth is flat, and, after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 missed 35 home games in 2021-22 because of a New York City employment vaccine mandate, has argued that the media’s attacking of his “beliefs'' is opportunistic and persecutory towards him. 

“Where were you when I was a kid figuring out that 300 million of my ancestors are buried in America?” the 30-year-old said last week. “I’m growing up in a country that’s told me that I wasn’t worth anything and I come from a slave class … I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.” 

It doesn’t help Irvings case that, as recently as September he shared a video from 2002 about a government conspiracy theory called the “New World Order” espoused by the despicable Alex Jones, who was recently ordered by a court to pay $1 billion in damages for broadcasting abhorrent lies about the Sandy Hook massacre.

Whatever sympathy Irving - of native American and African American heritage - may have ilicited for being a misunderstood black activist in modern America - giving “voice to the voiceless” as he claimed during his anti-vaccination crusade - has been long exhausted, especially in light of of rising anti-semitism in the country, much of which has been attributed to an increase in misinformation and conspiracy theories such as those espoused in the films and documentaries Irving has recently shared with his huge number of followers.

It is most probable that Irving is, in fact, not anti-semitic, especially when balanced against the worthy testimonies of those who know him, but, if guilty of anything, it is likely a cocktail of arrogance and ignorance, of gross intellectual hubris, the crumbs of which have led him to believe he knows more than the rest of us. 

When in fact he is little more than the spoofer atop the high stool, decrying and defying logic and convention in the name of preserving his own self image as a tortured seeker of truth. The havoc he wreaks on court may soon be an afterthought to the damage he’s doing off it. The alchemist has lost his touch.

Neville facing some tough questions

Gary Neville’s rough ride as a guest-presenter on the BBC’s satirical panel show Have I Got News For You is maybe the clearest indication yet that those who flagrantly line their greasy hands with Qatari silver in payment for their (likely sycophantic) commentary of the upcoming World Cup in the Gulf state, might be best advised to lay low and ride out the tempest of right-minded public opinion. 

You'd have to query Neville’s thinking in accepting - or pursuing - such a high-profile cameo, one which was always likely to yield some uncomfortable moments for the former England right back, begging the question, had he ever watched the show? 

After nineteen unremarkable minutes, Neville became visibly sweaty when Ian Hislop put him on the spot - literally - by advising Neville, after some typical witty banter, that he “didn’t have to go and take the Qatari’s money”. 

Neville hadn’t looked that uncomfortable since West Brom's Graham Dorrans gave him the runaround over a decade ago. Neville’s predicament in signing up to take part in Qatar's state-owned beIN Sports coverage of the tournament is that it flies in the face of a public persona he carefully cultivated as being the champion of the ordinary people, particularly in calling out billionaire owners of English football clubs during their recent flirtation with a European Super League in his role as a commentator with Sky Sports. 

Neville’s meteoric rise as custodian of the working man's game (as well as critic of successive Tory governments) was, in retrospect, too good to be true. There has at least been more consistency from fellow pundits Graeme Souness and Roy Keane, maybe because they feel less qualified to offer such definitive views as Neville. 

Maybe in his commentary in Qatar, he will prove his critics wrong by regularly highlighting the grotesqueness of the endeavour, but, until he does, he appears to be running with the hare and hunting with the oil rich hound.

Redemption for the Astros

The Houston Astros clinched their second baseball World Series title in six seasons on Saturday night, defeating underdogs the Philidelphia Phillies in a series that promised much by way of drama, before ceding to an Astros masterclass. 

There was an element of redemption for Houston, given their last title win was discredited due to a cheating scandal that revealed the Astros were using an electronic sign stealing system during their World Series winning season, allowing their batters to know what pitch was coming. 

The victory was also a touching moment for Astros manager Dusty Baker, hired in 2020 in an effort to redeem the Astros reputation, who had recorded more wins in his 25 seasons as boss in the Major Leagues than any other without a World Series.

Touching Bradley moment shows sport at its best

The League of Ireland has benefitted in recent years from the authentic rivalry enjoyed by its Dublin cohort of clubs - particularly Shelbourne, Bohs, St Pats and champions Shamrock Rovers. There have been a few sketchy moments too, but for the most part the adversarial dynamic has enhanced a league that is constantly looking for ways to stay relevant in a world of competing priorities. 

What a relief then, to see the universal response of solidarity when Rovers manager Stephan Bradley's eight-year-old son Josh, who has been battling leukemia, joined senior players Ronan Finn and Roberto Lopes collecting the league trophy last Sunday. Sport matters more in the moments it proves its broader insignificance.