Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon almost opened another can of worms for Kyrie Irving. During his recent appearance, the 2016 NBA champion was asked if he still thinks the Earth is flat. This time though, Irving reflected on the fallout from his earlier comments and took the high road.
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“By the way, I got in so much trouble for that,” the eight-time All-Star said. “You got to be careful with that, man.” When asked why he got into trouble for his statement, Irving simply answered, “Influence.”
Kyrie Irving refuses to answer Ray’s question of “is the Earth flat” saying last time he got into serious trouble for it due to him being a big influence pic.twitter.com/Rp3b7FAYCy
— ryan 🤿 (@scubaryan_) November 29, 2024
Kyrie understood how his words held weight as a public figure and refrained from speaking as freely as he previously had. In February of 2017, he joined his former Cavs teammates Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson on the ‘Road Trippin’ podcast, making his first declaration about the Earth’s alleged shape.
“The Earth is flat…I’m telling you, it’s right in front of our faces. They lie to us,” the former #1 pick shared. Immediately, Irving would face a plethora of critics who labeled him as ‘anti-science’ for pushing his rhetoric. However, Kyrie would later explain the intention behind his comments as well.
“The whole intent behind it, Coach, it wasn’t to bash science,” he explained. Irving was being somewhat of a contrarian as he claimed that he had set up the whole thing as an “exploitation tactic“. He wanted to expose how quick people can be to dismiss those who disagree with them.
Irving’s questioning came from a distrust towards the education system and he believed that asking such questions, as rudimentary as they may be, are essential to critical thinking. During the debacle, he argued that his comments being as divisive as they were proved his point that people with different opinions could not come together amicably.
However, after a year and a half of controversy, Kyrie eventually understood the implications of his statement and issued a public apology. “At the time I didn’t realize the effect. I was definitely at that time, ‘I’m a big conspiracy theorist. You can’t tell me anything.’ I’m sorry about all that,” he shared during the Forbes’ Under 30 summit.
Irving learned the hard way that some topics were best left to the inner circle. He was curious and well-intentioned, but failed to realize how his influence as an NBA star placed greater expectations on him.
Through those experiences, Kyrie learned how to approach his activism without letting it affect his livelihood. Even today, the 32-year-old remains one of the most forward-thinking athletes in the game. Only now, the Dallas Mavericks guard knows how to pick his moments.
