Kyrie Irving Recalls Getting Bullied Growing Up: “People See You As A Threat”

Kyrie Irving is a unique dude. Not only is Kyrie unique for his unbelievable skill level on the basketball court, he also has a very different outlook on the world and his place in it than most people, let alone most NBA players, do.

The Mavericks point guard isn’t always right about everything and we’ve all seen instances where he came out looking bad for something he said. Still, he’s one of the most thoughtful athletes we’ve ever seen and for that he deserves credit.

Kyrie was streaming with Kai Cenat last night and dropped a lot of wisdom in the feed. He also tried to shatter the stereotype that athletes are the ones that do the bullying, not the other way around.

“I got bullied when I was younger, bro,” he said. “I was definitely a soft-hearted kid.” He laughed as he said, “I’ve always been handsome and s*** like that, but being smart, being in the trenches, sometimes can be seen as a threat to kids that are ignorant.”

Take away the star athlete part and Kyrie does fit the mold of someone that might have dealt with bullies when they were younger, for precisely the reasons he said. He’s philosophical and well-spoken, qualities that don’t usually go far on the playground.

Kyrie revealed that as an adult, he’s finally able to be true to who he is. “Every room that I went in when I was younger,” he said, “I wasn’t myself. And that hurt me that I didn’t feel confident enough to be myself.”

Now Kyrie is comfortable with who he is, and he hopes to affect positive change for people who can use him as a role model. “I’ve had a lot of stressful days, I’ve had a lot of great days, but waking up every day and taking that breath, I’m like, ‘I got a chance. I got a chance to change the world'”

“You can do so many amazing things, bro and to be in this position now, I don’t ever take it for granted, because I want people to see my scars,” he continued. “I want people to see my inner beauty show out more than outer. I want them to know my heart. I want them to know why I was placed on this earth.”

Kyrie’s undeniable basketball ability helped get him to where he is today, but for a time, he dreamed of being a journalist.

Irving almost walked a very different path

On one of his livestreams, he revealed having considered going to Indiana University to pursue a career in journalism, but of course he changed his mind and decided to go to Duke and play basketball.

This revelation helps color some of Kyrie’s previous interactions with the media, which have at times been combative. Perhaps at a time when freedom of the press is under fire but at the same time the media in many ways is failing to uphold its basic responsibilities, it makes sense that someone with Kyrie’s high standards would take issue with the current state of journalism.

No doubt that’s partly why he’s turned to these livestreams recently, so that he can allow people to see the real him without any media bias or outside agenda. Kyrie has seemed more free on camera than he is at a typical postgame press conference, giving fans at home a better insight into how he really feels.