NBA players in the past have admirably come together to speak out against injustices and other wrongdoings.
With this history in mind, a Basketball Hall of Famer is disappointed by players going silent in response to Kyrie Irving.
Irving recently raised eyebrows when he took to his personal social media channels and promoted a film that features themes of anti-Semitism. The Brooklyn Nets did very little to discipline the star guard and no player across the league has been willing to publicly condemn Irving. This hasn’t sat well with Reggie Miller, who shared his thoughts on the matter during TNT’s broadcast of Tuesday’s Nets-Bulls game.
“In years past, this league has been great because the players have led the way and they have strong voices,” Miller said, as transcribed by the New York Post. “When Donald Sterling stepped in it, when Robert Sarver just recently stepped in it, our voices in the basketball community and our players were vocally strong in some type of discipline being handed down — or be gone.
“The players have dropped the ball on this case when it’s been one of their own. It’s been crickets. And it’s disappointing, because this league has been built on the shoulders of the players being advocates. Right is right and wrong is wrong. And if you’re gonna call out owners, and rightfully so, then you’ve got to call out players as well. You can’t go silent in terms of this for Kyrie Irving. I want to hear the players and their strong opinions as well, just as we heard about Robert Sarver and Donald Sterling.”
Miller isn’t the only NBA legend who has an issue with how the Irving situation is being handled. The Indiana icon’s TNT teammate, Charles Barkley, believes the league should have suspended Irving for his actions.
