In the wake of Kyrie Irving’s foot-stomp on the face of ‘Lucky’ — the Boston Celtics’ iconic logo — at the end of the Brooklyn Nets’ 141-126 Game 4 win, the blowback from members of the Celtics champion alumnus continues with another Boston legend speaking against Irving.
One of the newest Basketball Hall of Fame inductees and 2008 Celtics champion, Kevin Garnett spoke out, Monday.
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Garnett posted a message on his Instagram story calling Kyrie out for his actions and asking the Nets point guard to do better. His former teammate, Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis, also took aim at Kyrie on social media.
Davis directed a message at the seven-time All-Star, stating he was offended while also insinuating violence. It even got a response from Irving’s teammate, Kevin Durant.
Cedric Maxwell: Kyrie Irving’s ‘Stomp’ Had ‘Nothing To Do with Competition’
Now, Boston’s 1981 NBA Finals MVP and Celtics radio commentator Cedric Maxwell is expressing his displeasure with Kyrie.
“I said, ‘Oh no, he didn’t,’ Maxwell said Monday via the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “Kyrie (Irving) just went to the logo and wiped his foot like he was wiping off some poop.”
Keep it “strictly basketball,” Irving warned Celtics fans after Game 2 when he and the Nets topped Boston — 130-108 — in blowout fashion. And now, the way Maxwell sees it; Kyrie should have been the one taking in a piece of his own advice.
“It had nothing to do with the competition, not for you to go wipe your feet on the logo,” he said, per the Boston Globe. “It didn’t matter if it was a white man, if it was a zebra, if it was a squirrel. I didn’t care what it was. It was just the fact that you didn’t need to do that, and you’re bringing attention to yourself.
“You played a great game, you won. What is the point? What really is the point? Like I said, Kyrie is a great player. Why the classless act?”
That was the same question Max was asking everyone on Twitter after Sunday’s Game 4 broadcast and got a handful of different responses from Celtics fans, including one who relayed a message from 2008 champion Kendrick Perkins.
Cedric Maxwell On Kyrie Irving & Banned Celtics Fan: ‘Both Are Despicable’
Instead of chastising Kyrie, Perkins trashed the Celtics fan who threw the water bottle at Irving seconds after Kyrie stepped onto the logo at center court. To which, Maxwell responded to.
“I don’t disagree with my brother Perk,” Maxwell replied on Twitter. “They are not mutually exclusive but both need to be shown. Both are despicable.”
Max condemns the act that landed a 21-year-old Celtics fan in handcuffs, on Sunday. Cole Buckley, 21, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, according to the Boston Globe.
And for the Celtics’ 2x champ, Buckley wasn’t the only fan who was out of line. However, by Maxwell’s estimation, Kyrie still doesn’t get a pass for his actions.
“When they said, ‘Kyrie sucks,’ that bothered me,” Maxwell said, per the Boston Globe. “When they said ‘(expletive) Kyrie,’ that really bothered me, because we had fans there who were younger kids. So I didn’t appreciate that at all. That crossed the line too with me.
“But there was still no reason at all for Kyrie to go out to the logo of the Celtics and essentially wipe his foot like he has just stepped in some dog crap. That, to me, was classless from a great player. There’s no place for it in the game.”
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