Kyrie Irving Is Sorry For Being A Dickhead And I Accept His Apology
Kyrie Irving wants to be a leader, we know that. The problem is all season long we haven’t really see him act like a leader. There were questions if he even knew what that consisted of, to the point where he had to call LeBron to apologize to him and ask for help. Well, after speaking with Yahoo’s Chris Haynes, I must say after reading this piece, I’ve never seen Kyrie act more like a leader. I suggest you read the whole thing because it’s great, but I want to focus on a few things he said because honestly if we as a mob on the internet are willing to give Kyrie shit for the times he acted like a diva and caused unneccesary drama, we also have to give him credit for finally seeing the light and realizing he fucked up. I think part of the reason we’ve seen such a turnaround lately is because Kyrie is finally putting it all together. Terry Rozier said it best the other day, when Kyrie is in a good mood everyone is in a good mood and it sure as shit looks like he’s starting to figure out this whole leadership thing. So let’s have ourselves a look at this enlightened Kyrie and why it may be the secret to the whole playoff run
“The way I’ve handled things, it hasn’t been perfect,” Irving told Yahoo Sports as he rested his feet in a bucket of ice at his locker stall. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes that I take full responsibility for. I apologize. I haven’t done it perfectly. I haven’t said the right things all the time. I don’t want to sit on a place like I’m on a pedestal from anybody. I’m a normal human being that makes mistakes. For me, I think because of how fixated I was on trying to prove other people wrong, I got into a lot of habits that were bad, like reading stuff and reacting emotionally. That’s just not who I am.”
Self awareness like you read about. There’s no denying there are times where Kyrie certainly lacked this trait, and it’s true we’re all human and we all fuck up, but it always felt like earlier in the year Kyrie never really wanted to take responsibility for any of the issues. Instead it was finger pointing city. Right off the bat acknowledging that he was a gigantic asshole at times and apologizing for it is for sure a step in the right direction. A true leader isn’t afraid to say they fucked up and that’s what Kyrie was doing.
“The off-the-court stuff, that’s more the aspirational side of things where it’s not really so much about the game. That goes back to having a presence, a message that you want to get across to fans, to different industries that you want to become a part of. I don’t really have complaints about that. It’s just when you come into this business now, it’s more entertainment now more than anything else. That’s what bothers me the most. It’s like a freaking reality show at every corner. Everything that someone says is the next [big controversy]. Like I said before … this breaks up locker rooms. Media breaks up locker rooms. It happens all the time, bro. Whether people want to admit or not, it really does.”
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OK so Kyrie sort of lost me here with his classic word vomit but I think I get his point. He’s just talking about how everything is overanalyzed and creates drama, but I’m not sure how that’s related to off the court stuff. Like all of Kyrie’s issues came from things he said, not because he made a commercial or a movie. Who gives a shit about that.
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“I just want to make sure this locker room understands who I am and what I represent,” Irving told Yahoo Sports. “I’m trying to make sure that they set a great example for young players that are coming after them as well. Like I said, I haven’t said the right things and done all the right things, and I don’t ever want to compare myself to perfection.
This was big in my opinion because it makes me think of the whole vets vs kids issue. It sure sounded like earlier in the year Kyrie felt like he could do no wrong and was essentially perfect, and it was everyone else who was messing everything up. If he wants to be a leader and mentor the young players, I would say finally admitting you aren’t perfect or always right is an important step. Whether that’s on the floor or with the media, it sure seems like Kyrie truly realizes everything he’s done so far this season is pretty much the exact opposite of how he should have acted, and h’s taking responsibility for that.
The question now becomes is this just going to be more fluff to the media or is there actually going to be a difference on the floor? I would say watching Kyrie interact with his teammates during this trip suggests that he truly is committed to improving and being a better leader, so that’s encouraging. He said after the Lakers win that it all starts with him, and while sports talk radio tried to spin that into this “me me me” selfish mentality, it’s the truth. Kyrie is their best player, he is their leader and everything with this team trickles down from him whether that’s fair or not. He still may not be perfect, it’s valid if you’re skeptical, but I can at least respect his ability to realize he was maybe the worst leader of all time through the first 60+ games of the season and as long as that shit gets fixed for the playoffs that’s all that matters.
I don’t know what happened on that plane, but everything about this team since it touched down in the Bay has been perfect whether it’s their play on the floor or the leadership efforts of Kyrie Irving. I can’t wait to find out the real truth of what happened during those 6 hours on the champion ship DVD.