‘F*** Thanksgiving’: When Kyrie Irving went off after a loss to the Knicks during Celtics’ chaotic 2018-19 season

2 years ago, the Boston Celtics lost a close game to the New York Knicks of all teams. Kyrie Irving, who tried his best to get them over the line, was quite upset.

After their impressive postseason run without both Irving and Gordon Hayward, many had tipped the Celtics to be the powerhouse of the East in the 2018-19 season. The likes of Bill Simmons even predicted a whopping 67 wins for the team. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

Throughout the season, the Celtics struggled for chemistry on and off the court. They attempted to ease Gordon Hayward back into match form with little success. Hayward was coming off the bench by the time the Celtics faced the Knicks. They lost 117-109 to the Knicks, who were at a record of a paltry 5-14 prior to this game.

Kyrie Irving: “Fuck Thanksgiving.”

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) November 22, 2018

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What exactly prompted Kyrie Irving to say ‘F*** Thanksgiving’?

It wasn’t just the matter of a close loss to the Knicks that made Kyrie blurt out this profanity. Irving has Native American roots from his mother’s side, and his Indian name is ‘Little Mountain’, giving by the Sioux Falls tribe.

The festival of Thanksgiving has a chequered background in American history. Violence of the genocide sort against is what is attributed to the origins of this festival.

Dennis Zotigh, a writer and cultural specialist at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, noted in 2016: “Many Natives particularly in the New England area remember this attempted genocide as a factual part of their history and are reminded each year during the modern Thanksgiving.”

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Given this background, one can appreciate Kyrie’s frustration with the festival a lot more. Especially put in the backdrop of their disappointing loss to the Knicks. The Celtics would go on to get knocked out by the Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Semifinals 4-1