The Big Lead

Kyrie Irving goes on epic rant about 'stupid' and 'ignorant' racism

By Divij Kulkarni

Feb 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) controls the ball against the Charlotte Hornets during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Feb 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) controls the ball against the Charlotte Hornets during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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NBA fans know Kyrie Irving as a showstopped and a wizard on the basketball court, but he has never shied away from making headlines off the court as well. Kyrie Irving has been loud and proud of his black and indigenous heritage for many years and he has recently issued another strong subject of racism.

Kyrie Irving was ruled out for the season with an ACL injury early in March. He's since gotten back to streaming and he continues to try and lead what he calls 'his tribe.' Speaking on his stream over the weekend, Irving launched into a passionate rant about how stupid racism in society truly is.

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“Growing up in this society, just because you have this different skin tone, you have different rules that you got to abide by — or you can’t be proud of your history because of skin tone, because people really got killed because of [it],” Irving said.

“Do you know how stupid that is? You know how ignorant you've gotta be to put somebody in a tree and hang them because they're black? That’s probably the dumbest sh*t I’ve ever heard, to be honest with you.”

It's one of the dumbest things ever, it really is," Irving added. "You really don't like somebody because they're a different color, a different religion? That's the dumbest sh*t ever for me. I don't get along with people like that and I don't have time to listen to people like that."

Kyrie Irving also spoke about the narrative that systemically oppressed groups simpky need to work harder to improve their fortunes. Acknowledging the generational damage that systemic racism has caused is the first step towards healing society's wounds and Irving's commentary is spot on.

Facing an extended period of time out with injury, Kyrie Irving is sure to devote more time to some of the other causes he believes in. While he has been controversial at times in the past, Kyrie's point about racism is one that just about anyone would be hard pressed to disagree with.

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