Kyrie Irving fined for not making himself available to the media

Kyrie Irving (Erik Drost, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Joshua Howe of Rogers Sportsnet, Brooklyn Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving was fined on Thursday for $25,000 for not making himself available to the media during the Nets training camp. In addition to Irving behind fined, the Brooklyn Nets organization was fined $25,000 as well.

The fact that Irving, who is a native of Melbourne, Australia, did not choose to speak to the press, put himself, and the Nets organization in a negative light. Irving finally addressed the media on Monday, and praised the Nets’ hiring of new head coach Steve Nash. The hiring of Nash has been questioned by many for his lack of coaching experience. However, the fact that Brooklyn hired veteran head coach Mike D’Antoni as their assistant coach, might ease Nash’s learning curve.

Nash meanwhile praised Irving’s leadership skills on Monday. One must realize, when you are a professional athlete, you also have a responsibility to speak to the media, and by not doing so is a sign of lack of leadership. Calling the media “pawns” as Irving did, was a sign of disrespect, according to Irving’s former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kevin Love. Irving and Love also played together for the United States internationally in the past.

The NBA’s policy states “that players must be available to the media for pre-or post-practice interview sessions.” It should be noted that Irving is not the only Brooklyn Nets player who has generated controversy in recent times. A year ago, Irving’s current teammate Kevin Durant stated that when the Toronto Raptors won the 2019 NBA Finals and the fans cheered his injury while with the Golden State Warriors, “it will probably be the last time they (the Raptors) will be in the finals.” That irked many Canadians and Raptors fans.

The NBA has strict rules when it comes to player availability. However, do the same rules apply to NBA coaches and past players? One NBA past player, who ironically is now a NBA head coach, denied an interview request with The Sporting Base this past summer. The standards need to be applied not just to current players, but retired players and coaches too.

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