Author Topic: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness  (Read 5403 times)

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How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« on: September 19, 2017, 12:33:19 PM »

Offline Smartacus

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Kyrie Irving has thrust himself into the center NBA landscape and the people have reacted. What was once an inconsequential guy with a smooth game is now a pariah for the type of thinking that makes people uncomfortable. Between the Flat Earth talk, use of the term "woke", and a general apathy for engaging in the typical sports talk narrative...
Quote
https://mobile.twitter.com/roywoodjr/status/909802794193965058
https://twitter.com/roywoodjr/status/909796275830353920 and https://mobile.twitter.com/roywoodjr/status/909803476363956226
... Kyrie has drawn criticism from fans claiming that he comes across as "smug" "arrogant" "thinks he's smarter than he is". (people need to be careful with that one - very problematic phrase)

Something about how Kyrie carries himself makes it seems like he's talking down to everyone else and it make people angry.

Well the way I see it as someone who's also been criticized in the past for having far out views that don't always align with the mainstream, you get a bit sick of being mischaracterized and having your motives ascribed for you. (Not here mind you, this blog has a fairly open mind)

People want to believe he left Cleveland because he hates LeBron or wants to be the man on his own because those are narratives that make sense to us We've seen that narrative before, if a max guy leaves a championship caliber team it's for one of those two reasons.

Kyrie thinks and feels a certain way but one thing to remember is that he's far from alone. Be it Bieber's pastor, his friends, or people on the weird forums he reads Kyrie ascribes to a belief system that separates him from most of the sports world. His motives are deeply layered and probably only make sense to people who think like he does.

When he refuses to engage Max Kellerman when he's getting red in the face trying to make Kyrie admit to locker room resentment he does so not because he thinks he's better or smarter than Max, but that Max can't speak with him on a level where Kyrie could formulate a response that Max would find acceptable.

So I say this. Think of Kyrie like you think of a deeply religious person. He has been indoctrinated into a mindset where it's difficult for him to have conversations with those who don't ascribe to or are even opposed to his world view. Kyrie doesn't resent the detractors he just pays them no mind. We should try to do the same.

I once heard a spiritual guy say "the critics are just crickets chirping away." You don't hate the cricket you just accept them and move on with your life.

Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2017, 12:40:30 PM »

Online Donoghus

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Who cares about all that crap.  It's fairly meaningless & irrelevant to on the court play.

I could care less about what the guy says or how awkward he might act in public if it has zero impact on his game. 

Haven't understood people getting all worked out about how he talks or some of his life philosophies.


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Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2017, 12:43:28 PM »

Offline hpantazo

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I can not only accept it, but embrace it if he leads us to banner 18

Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #3 on: September 19, 2017, 12:48:54 PM »

Offline tarheelsxxiii

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Rondo was similar in the some aspects you touched upon, and I grew to love that dude.  As long as he adopts that work-ethic and grit that I think Boston fans (myself included) love to see, he'll be alright.   
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Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #4 on: September 19, 2017, 01:50:21 PM »

Offline gift

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... Kyrie has drawn criticism from fans claiming that he comes across as "smug" "arrogant" "thinks he's smarter than he is". (people need to be careful with that one - very problematic phrase)

I'm curious what is problematic about the phrase "thinks he's smarter than he is".

Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #5 on: September 19, 2017, 02:04:38 PM »

Offline vjcsmoke

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I don't see what's so hard to understand.  Kyrie wants to be one of the greatest of all time.  He can't do that by being Pippen to Lebron's Jordan, or by being Robin to Batman. 

He wanted the chance to lead a franchise and as he put it 'grow'.  He's been given that opportunity in Boston.  He's got the keys to the car and very good teammates in Hayward and Horford.  He has young pups coming up with potential that he could help groom in Tatum, Brown, Smart, Rozier.  This is the perfect opportunity for Kyrie to prove that he can take himself and an entire franchise to the next level.

Will he do it?  Time will tell.  Do I care how he talks or how he thinks if it means more winning?  He can take whatever philosophy he likes as long as it ultimately leads to him becoming a better player on the floor and carrying this team to banner 18.  Whether you think he sounds smug or too smart for his britches doesn't mean a thing.  It's what he does with himself, his actions that really matter.

Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2017, 02:05:21 PM »

Offline Dino Pitino

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Who cares about all that crap.  It's fairly meaningless & irrelevant to on the court play.

I could care less about what the guy says or how awkward he might act in public if it has zero impact on his game. 

Haven't understood people getting all worked out about how he talks or some of his life philosophies.

It's not getting worked up about it, it's just a fact that he does have a unique, awkward, hyper-abstract, halfway-incoherent way of speaking. It invites parody. As for his philosophies, maybe I would agree with him if I could just understand what those philosophies are.
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Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2017, 02:06:09 PM »

Online green_bballers13

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Who cares about all that crap.  It's fairly meaningless & irrelevant to on the court play.

I could care less about what the guy says or how awkward he might act in public if it has zero impact on his game. 

Haven't understood people getting all worked out about how he talks or some of his life philosophies.

This. Just because we have more media doesn't mean that players need to engage more with the media. I would love to hear Larry Bird be asked dumb questions 100,000 times and see what his response would have been.

People are too frickin sensitive with all of this off the court "stuff". This "stuff" doesn't add value to the Celtics- it just satisfies our insatiable desire for drama for 14 sec. until the next tweet.

The sports media has basically become the movie "Mean Girls". Ask loaded questions and then get offended if you don't like the answer. Jeesh.

Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2017, 02:08:33 PM »

Offline vjcsmoke

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It's not getting worked up about it, it's just a fact that he does have a unique, awkward, hyper-abstract, halfway-incoherent way of speaking. It invites parody. As for his philosophies, maybe I would agree with him if I could just understand what those philosophies are.

With all due respect, I don't have to understand the Amish philosophy to enjoy their good handmade craftmanship or fresh dairy products.  Bottom line is if the end product is excellent, they can keep on thinking whatever they like, I'll pay good money to get good value. 

Same thing for Kyrie.  He can join the Tom Cruise cult for all I care, I'll still enjoy watching him if he wins us a lot of basketball games and brings us another banner and I'll still go see the latest Mission Impossible as long as it is entertaining and action packed.

Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #9 on: September 19, 2017, 02:12:30 PM »

Offline Dino Pitino

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It's not getting worked up about it, it's just a fact that he does have a unique, awkward, hyper-abstract, halfway-incoherent way of speaking. It invites parody. As for his philosophies, maybe I would agree with him if I could just understand what those philosophies are.

With all due respect, I don't have to understand the Amish philosophy to enjoy their good handmade craftmanship or fresh dairy products.  Bottom line is if the end product is excellent, they can keep on thinking whatever they like, I'll pay good money to get good value. 

Same thing for Kyrie.  He can join the Tom Cruise cult for all I care, I'll still enjoy watching him if he wins us a lot of basketball games and brings us another banner and I'll still go see the latest Mission Impossible as long as it is entertaining and action packed.

I agree, ultimately.

Doesn't mean I have to stop mocking the weirdness of his media statements. Right? We're gonna be dealing with Kyrie's unique brand of wokeness for several years. We're gonna need the comic relief.
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Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #10 on: September 19, 2017, 02:15:21 PM »

Offline Roy H.

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Who cares about all that crap.  It's fairly meaningless & irrelevant to on the court play.

I could care less about what the guy says or how awkward he might act in public if it has zero impact on his game. 

Haven't understood people getting all worked out about how he talks or some of his life philosophies.

I basically agree. While I worry a small bit about his inevitable paste-eating livestream, if he plays well on the court and doesn't create issues in the locker room, I don't really care about his philosophy all that much.


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Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #11 on: September 19, 2017, 02:15:58 PM »

Offline droopdog7

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I can not only accept it, but embrace it if he leads us to banner 18
Pretty much this.  Fans have a way of twisting anything as they please depending on how a guy performs.  So if he's great on the court, fans will find a way to love him no matter what.

Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #12 on: September 19, 2017, 02:51:04 PM »

Offline Dino Pitino

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"Young man, you have the question backwards." - Bill Russell

"My guess is that an aggregator of expert opinions would be close in terms of results to that of Danny." - Roy H.

Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #13 on: September 19, 2017, 03:18:33 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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I actually like that he's a weirdo.  I hope he gets weirder.

It's been too long since we had a guy who gave totally off the wall interviews.  I've missed that since KG got traded.
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Re: How to accept Kyrie's Wokeness
« Reply #14 on: September 19, 2017, 03:39:47 PM »

Offline jaketwice

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He sounds like a lesser personality that Isaiah Thomas; let's hope he's a proportionately greater player.