Longtime radio jockey Howard Stern has never been known to keep his thoughts to himself, and during a recent episode of his wildly famous radio show, Stern let disgraced Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving have it.
“This Kyrie Irving is a complete douchebag,” he said. “I mean what a f——, you know he’s a flat Earther? Here’s Kyrie Irving. You know, he’s a f—— douchebag.”
Stern, who is Jewish, then went on to retell the story of the Irving drama that has precipitated over the last few weeks. As NBA fans know quite well, Irving shared a link to an anti-Semitic film on his personal Twitter page, and when he was asked to apologize for it, he proceeded to respond with his typical cryptic and holier-than-thou attitude.
Stern, understandably, didn’t like any of it.
“He’s just a f—— moron,” Stern said before impersonating Irving’s point of view. “‘Just let me hate the Jews, for God’s sake. Don’t bust my balls. I just wanna go on Twitter and hate Jews. Can’t you just leave me alone? Everyone hates Jews. Why are you picking on me? I’m just an NBA player. I don’t understand anything. A lot of people hate the Jews. Why you picking on me? The Earth is flat. I think the Jews are lizards. Next question. Stop it, leave me be.'”
Irving is currently serving a suspension that was brought down on him by the Nets. The team has established a list of things Irving must do before he is reinstated by the team.
Sources: Nets have delivered Kyrie Irving six items he must complete to return to team:
– Apologize/condemn movie
– $500K donation to anti-hate causes
– Sensitivity training
– Antisemitic training
– Meet with ADL, Jewish leaders
– Meet with Joe Tsai to demonstrate understanding— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 6, 2022
However, there seems to be a belief that the Nets purposefully listed those parameters for his reinstatement knowing that he would not be able to fulfill the demands.
“There is a feeling among some close to the process, I’m told, that the list was crafted with the knowledge that Irving would be unlikely to complete all six and thus could conceivably subject himself to potential outright release,” NBA insider Marc Stein wrote on his Substack.
Obviously, Stern is hoping for nothing but the worst for Irving, and that seems to be the case for a lot of people who have knowledge of the situation. It will be interesting to see if the seven-time All-Star is able to get back into the league’s good graces.
If not, he runs the real risk of not playing in the NBA for a very long time. Though he’s been an off-court distraction for years now, the anti-Semitism he’s recently displayed was obviously a bridge too far for many people.
If Irving can apologize and learn why and how his actions were so harmful to so many people, perhaps he’ll be able to find his way back in the league. Until then, it seems likely that he’ll continue to sit.
