clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Kyrie Irving in a multi-tweet barrage about media abuse ... and Stephen A. responds

Boston Celtics v Brooklyn Nets - Game Four Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

In the aftermath of the Nets sweep and his comments about “managing the franchise” with Kevin Durant, Sean Marks and Joe Tsai, Kyrie Irving has taken some hits in the media with several media types blaming him for the Nets turmoil-filled season, particularly his refusal to get vaccinated.

Typical of the heat Irving faced was a segment Tuesday on ESPN featuring Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins, both of whom have criticized him all season. ESPN rightly described it as a rant...

It was indeed one of several commentaries. Barbara Barker of Newsday in a column published Wednesday suggested that the Irving’s absence was the core of Brooklyn’s problems. So, on Thursday morning, Irving took to social media as he has in the past and blasted mainstream media in a string of tweets without naming names but not holding back...

It was one of Irving’s most intense Twitter screeds but the theme, the media as “puppets” or “pawns,” is one he has returned to multiple times both before and after joining the team in July 2019. Although he does not connect the tweets with the criticism he’s received, it seems likely that it at least spurred him on.

Smith certainly thought the tweet barrage was about his criticism of Irving and promised a response Friday...

And indeed on Friday, Stephen A. did as promised, and ended his latest rant by saying that he will not let up...