What Kyrie Irving and his friends need to do next

The Dr Boyce Breakdown

What Kyrie Irving and other brothers might want to do right now Today, I want to talk for a second about Kyrie Irving. Kyrie is under a great deal of controvesy regarding the various mandates and other things being imposed on him by the NBA. But this leads to a question we've been asking for quite some time: Why don't these black men start their own league? Kyrie Irving is worth tens of millions of dollars. There are dozens of black athletes and celebrities worth hundreds of millions of dollars each. What's stopping black athletes from starting their own league rather than simply being employees of the NFL and NBA. ESPN says that Kyrie Irving is likely going to have trouble from the NBA, but will receive support from the public: "The financial consequences, I know I do not want to even do that," Irving said. "But it is reality that in order to be in New York City, in order to be on a team, I have to be va**. I chose to be unva***, and that was my choice, and I would ask you all to just respect that choice. "I am going to just continue to stay in shape, be ready to play, be ready to rock out with my teammates and just be part of this whole thing. This is not a political thing; this is not about the NBA, not about any organization. This is about my life and what I am choosing to do." Irving spoke out on social media one day after the Nets decided to not allow their starting point guard to practice or play with them at all until he complies with New York City's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Irving made it clear that he is not upset with the Nets organization, his teammates or the NBA, and he said he was not trying to make a political statement. He repeatedly said he respects doctors who continue to try to keep people safe and those who are vaccinated, while also respecting those who aren't vaccinated and "are being mandated to do this and are losing their livelihood." Nets general manager Sean Marks said Tuesday that the decision to not let Irving join the team until he gets at least one vaccine shot was ultimately made by him and team owner Joe Tsai. Marks also said Irving will lose only the money he was due to play in home games, which he is not allowed to do under New York City's mandate. If Irving misses every game in Brooklyn this season (including preseason games), along with the two regular-season games against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, he could lose over $17 million, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks and Tim Bontemps. Irving also is eligible to sign a four-year, $187 million extension with Brooklyn. "You got to make these convictions yourself," said Irving, who had not spoken publicly since Sept. 27, when he had to talk to reporters via videoconference call because he couldn't join his teammates for media day due to New York City's mandate. "'Yo, you are going to lose out on money; you are going to lose out on this.' So what. It is not about the money, baby. It is about choosing what is best for you. "You really think I want to lose money? You think I really want to give up on my dream to go after a championship? You think I really just want to give up my job? Think I really just want to sit at home and not go after the things with my teammates that I have been able to grow with, to learn with, to learn that it takes sacrifice in this space. ... You think I want to give up my livelihood because of a mandate, because I don't have accommodations, because I am unva**? Come on." Irving said he is "still uncertain about a lot of things, and that is OK." Video tags: kyrie,kyrie irving vaccine,kyrie irving ig live,kyrie irving live,kyrie irving stephen a smith,kyrie irving interview,kyrie instagram live,kyrie live,brooklyn nets,kyrie irving brooklyn nets,kyrie irving brooklyn,boyce watkins,dr boyce,dr boyce watkins,black athletes,nba,nba athletes,kyrie irving first take