Kyrie Irving: ‘I wish there was more empathy’ for NBA Players

In an interview with ESPN that was published today, Kyrie Irving discussed his retirement plans and addressed his controversial Thanksgiving comments. He apologized for saying “F— Thanksgiving” earlier in the week, and said that he has no interest in playing for as long as Vince Carter, who is now approaching his 42nd birthday (but is balling out nonetheless).

“No, no,” Irving said when asked if he would consider playing so far into middle age, “Once I’m done with this, hopefully in my early to mid-30s, I’m done with this.”

The comments indicate a kind of fatigue with the NBA lifestyle, and an excitement about his career’s eventual end in spite of his love of the game. As the interview went on, Irving’s exhaustion with the mental strain of being a professional athlete (and an All-Star, at that) became extremely evident.

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Greatness Can be Mentally Draining

“I don’t want to go into major detail,” he said, “but I would just say I wish there was sometimes more empathy in terms of what we’ve committed ourselves to doing every single day. Putting our bodies on the line, understanding kind of the mental strain you put on just trying to be great every single day, and just literally putting the ball in the hoop better than you did yesterday.

“It comes at a price, but it’s what we all signed up [for].”

The comment couldn’t have come at a more relevant time: Kevin Durant (along with teammate Draymond Green) has been in hot water for a while, and professional athletes’ lives are under more and more scrutiny as the social media age continues to develop. Not only are athletes professional competitors, but they’re also fixtures of pop culture–and the price of celebrity can sometimes be high.

“The little things are just what make the game special,” Irving continued. “Coming every single day and playing with these guys, and still try to figure out what that challenge is to be better as a basketball player rather than like, ‘What’s my popularity like?’ or ‘What branding could be done here?’ or something like that.

“That all comes, but I think the love of the game should always outshine everything else that comes with the NBA lifestyle.”

Irving and the Celtics will face off against Vince Carter and the Atlanta Hawks tonight at 6:30 pm CST.

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