Kyrie Irving made headlines this week for disparaging remarks he made about the media, and Charles Barkley is among those who think the Brooklyn Nets star needs to get over himself.
In an appearance on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta this week, Barkley said he does not understand what Irving is trying to accomplish by lashing out at the media. He indicated that Irving has been hurt throughout his career by not having the right leadership around him. Barkley said:
“I wish somebody would get in his ear. I do think there is something wrong with Kyrie, I truly believe that. I’m not joking right now. I don’t understand what his objective is. Yo man they’re paying you $40 million, you gotta just talk to the press. You can answer the questions you want to, you got to show up and answers questions. I tell all these guys, ‘Man we’re the luckiest dudes in the world. We make millions of dollars just playing a stupid game, and part of it is coming on radio shows, talking to the press. They got jobs to do.'”
Barkley is not alone with his opinion. Irving’s former teammate Kevin Love made similar remarks on Friday when he criticized Irving for calling the media “pawns.” Barkley added that he feels sorry for Irving and does not believe he’s a “bad kid”:
“I just think he’s never been around mature adults who told him how he was supposed to act. You know I got lucky with Dr. J and Moses, Maurice Cheeks, and Andrew Toney were like, ‘Yo man this is professional basketball, we’re pro players, you have to act like a pro.’ But see he’s got so much money now he can do whatever the hell he wants to do.”
Irving was fined by the NBA for not fulfilling his media obligations. He defended himself by issuing a statement bashing reporters.
It’s unclear how long Irving plans to go without talking to the media, but he’s calling more attention to himself by boycotting. That is probably the goal, even if Irving would never admit it.
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