Nets star Kyrie Irving said Tuesday he hopes he doesn’t experience racism when he returns to TD Garden this week for Brooklyn’s first-round series against the Boston Celtics. Irving played two seasons in Boston before joining the Nets.
Brooklyn leads the best-of-seven series 2-0. Game 3 is Friday in Boston.
“I am just looking forward to competing with my teammates and hopefully, we can just keep it strictly basketball; there’s no belligerence or racism going on — subtle racism,” Irving told reporters. “People yelling [expletive] from the crowd, but even if it is, it’s part of the nature of the game and we’re just going to focus on what we can control.”
Asked if anyone had ever made racist comments toward him while playing at TD Garden, Irving shrugged.
“I’m not the only one who could attest to this,” Irving said. “It is what is.”
Irving isn’t the first Black athlete to say they’ve received racist comments from fans in Boston. In 2017, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said Red Sox fans called him a racial slur multiple times. New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia backed Jones, saying, “When you go to Boston, you expect it.”
Celtics legend Bill Russell once called the city a “flea market of racism,” according to ESPN.
Irving played for the Celtics from 2017 to 2019. In October 2018, Irving told Celtics fans he planned to re-sign with Boston “if you guys will have me back” — but then left for the Nets the following summer.
Irving has only appeared in one regular-season game in Boston since leaving the Celtics, but that game was held without fans. He also played there as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in his career.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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