Kyrie Irving: The Difference Between a Role Model and Celebrity

Kyrie Irving being a headline for something has done is nothing new the last few NBA seasons, but he has now found himself in a whole new level of trouble after his recent retweet. However, unlike before where most just shook their heads and chalked it up to his ignorance, he has really stepped in it with his retweeting of an anti-Semitic video. Obviously, Kyrie has done this to himself, but it is also the case of years of how he has tried to present himself.

Now, let's separate the on the court shenanigans Irving has done of the last few years. His Cavaliers success, with LeBron James going to his head, being a locker room issue for the young Celtics, bailing on the team, wrecking the Nets culture, his dumb comments about not needing a coach, going at it with Celtics' fans and the bevy of 'excuses' he has tried to push for his lack of success. While his personality and way he thinks are factors in the way he carries himself in those situations, let us separate the player and the person.

This is something Kyrie has very much tried to do himself, presenting himself as more than a basketball player. Irving wants his persona not to be that of an athlete, instead wanting to be a trendsetter who plays basketball. His tenure in Brooklyn has regularly been marked by this; the earth being flat, his vaccination stance, using holiday fasting as an excuse for his poor playoffs (despite Jaylen Brown practicing the same beliefs) and now his attempted 'education' by retweeting the video in question. Irving sees himself as this deep thinker who is taking a different path and trying to open eyes with his platform.

Before we examine the platform he uses it needs to be pointed out what Kyrie does with these beliefs. As someone who has become a headline in waiting for his actions, Irving reacts the same way each time. Kyrie has been pressed on all of these beliefs and reacts the same way each time, defensive. In the press conference that led to his downfall, Irving tried to dismiss his inflammatory retweet as promotion and flip it on the media members. He questioned the ability of media members being able to understand this more complex subject when they just cover basketball. He tried to say “I just exist.” and use the fact that there are awful things, like the n-word on Twitter, and that he didn't do anything illegal as deflection.

There are two very simple things to take from all of this. One, Kyrie clearly considers himself above so many. He projects annoyance at being taken to task to explain the things he does as if he has established himself as some sort of infallible figure. Second, for all Kyrie says to try and distinguish himself he often will make several oxymoron statements that counter his explanation. His annoyance of being asked to explain is part of this but, more so, it makes him seem ignorant and uneducated on what he's talking about.

Kyrie also took issue with the notion of 'promoting' by retweeting this video, asking how he was promoting it. This can be more nuanced as his job puts him in a unique situation compared to most Americans. Being the talented basketball player that he is comes with attention and an audience, whether he wants it or not. Kyrie even tried to lean into this by saying “...I just exist.” The notion of this being that he is just being a human being and not asking for the responsibility. The nuance of this being that he does not necessarily have to accept this responsibility, but he can't claim he's unaware of it.

Often times with athletes, because of their celebrity, there's an expectation to accept the influence you carry and set a good example. I truly believe Kyrie is not unaware of this, and does promote his personal beliefs with this influence and views himself as a role model. However, when he gets into hot water for the things he says and does he tries to fade back behind the buffer of just being a celebrity that didn't ask for any of this.

To be clear, I would not hold it against him if he were to choose to not be a role model. Michael Jordan, my all time favorite player, was very clear in his denial of being a role model; specifically getting in trouble for his “Republicans wear sneakers too.” comment. He also tried to distance himself as a role model during his betting scandal. Is it disappointing? Yes, but MJ did not compound the issue by trying to take advantage of his celebrity for self-promotion. He wanted to be a basketball player and carried himself as such. That's not to say that Jordan didn't do good things as one of the most famous player in the world.

Let's be fair to Kyrie, he has also done good things like funding the WNBA with the struggles during COVID. However, the difference between Kyrie and MJ is that Irving wants to have his cake and eat it too. Kyrie, very much, wants to be able to self-promote but doesn't want any repercussions from his actions when he takes advantage of the audience his career has granted him. He pretends to not be responsible for any influence over people, and he doesn't make decisions for people, but it is ignorant to think he doesn't have sway.

This is how Kyrie has led himself to this situation, even before he did what he did. Kyrie waded into the waters of being a role model versus just being a celebrity. He doesn't shy away from the spotlight when it comes to sharing what he wants to share, yet somehow doesn't expect the same public that consumes it to question it. The press conference in question seems to shed context onto Kyrie not wanting to mix basketball with everything outside of it. He insulted the press at the notion of them understanding the 'deeper' context of what was being talked about when they're just there to cover basketball. This displays ignorance again by just answering one simple question, “How did you gain your celebrity?”

Now, do we think Kyrie would have a following even if he didn't play basketball? Probably, but it wouldn't be nearly as large. Any athlete at the major level is going to gain at least some sort of celebrity, but you don't have to take part in it. Kyrie doesn't have to have socials, podcasts and he doesn't have to take the millions of dollars from the Brooklyn Nets. If he truly wants the freedom from this scrutiny he can step away, but he doesn't. It seems to be that all of Kyrie's beliefs and notions stop just short of hurting him.

That was until Irving went too far and has now put himself in a position of costing himself millions. This is an issue that has come to the societal forefront in recent years, the argument of freedom of speech versus freedom of consequence. Kyrie is entitled to say what he wants but he is not free of scrutiny. He also represents the NBA and has business partnerships with the likes of Nike and others and is not free of them deeming his comments as something they don't want associated with their brands. That's not to deny the hypocrisy of the NBA having business dealings with China and Nike's use of sweatshops.

In corporate America it is far easier for the public to pile on an individual than it is to go after a business. That isn't fair, and I will not absolve the sins of either companies, but all parties are still guilty. Irving was even given the chance to walk back his comments and instead doubled down, going as far to not simply answer no “Are you anti-Semitic?” Even in this collection of hypocrisy, plenty will claim woke culture, there really wasn't much left to keep Kyrie out of the hot water.

I am not black and I will not try to speak to the experiences or feelings of how these people express themselves or how they wish to go about finding solutions. I think Kyrie is someone that tries to do good for his people and has done good things for African American people, which makes this hill to die on so much more confusing. His retweet, and defense of his comments, were over an entire section of people. From the outside it seems obvious that he would realized if the roles were reversed, if someone 'promoted' anti-black sentiment, he would not see it the same way. If someone was asked if they were racist and refused to answer the question flatly I believe Kyrie would be on the same side as everyone criticizing them. So why could he not see it in this case?

Kyrie will continue to dominate the sports news cycle as his impending free agency just got even more complicated with this recent issue, but none of it will be solved if he continues to try to walk the same line. If you just want to be a celebrity Kyrie and absolve yourself of the responsibility of the impact you have then you might quickly get your wish, and also be out of the NBA. If you accept the influence you have and truly try to be a role model then you can really do some good. However, the more you continue on this path the more any good you do will be overshadowed by your continued missteps.