Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving was fined $50,000 for giving the finger to Boston Celtics fans on Sunday during Brooklyn’s Game 1 playoff loss to the Celtics, the league said.
The league posted a message saying Irving had been fined for “directing profane language toward the spectator stands,” Byron Spruell, president of league operations, reported.
The following was released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/KpNRX6alBg
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 19, 2022
It is all apparently part of Irving’s continuing feud with Boston fans since he left the team in 2019. Since then, every time he shows up in Boston, he faces loud boos, CBS notes.
Irving was caught on camera flipping fans the bird.
But after the game, Irving insisted that he isn’t opposed to every Boston fan.
“Where I’m from, I’m used to all these antics and people being close nearby,” Irving said after the game. “It’s nothing new when I come into this building what it’s going to be like. But it’s the same energy they have for me, I’m going to have the same energy for them.
“And it’s not every fan, I don’t want to attack every Boston fan. When people start yelling (expletives) and all this stuff, there’s only but so much you take as a competitor. We’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach…it’s the playoffs. This is what it is.”
Still, Irving faced a wave of boos every time he came near the ball as he led the Nets with 39 points. The Nets ended up losing 115-114
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