The Ball Briefing: What Kyrie Irving Can Teach Us About Empathy
Kyrie Irving gets the benefit of the doubt from a lot of fans. Why don't other players?
The Ball Briefing is our quick recap of what has been captivating us in the sports world. Every week, you’ll get a blog post, some quick-hitters and links to our favorite articles about men’s basketball, women’s basketball, historical subjects and/or whatever has captured our attention. Subscribe to get the Ball Briefing every week and everything else we do using the button below!
Treat Everyone Like They Are Kyrie Irving
Last week, Kyrie Irving returned to the basketball court after missing seven games due to personal reasons and the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Irving disappeared from the team shortly after the Donald Trump-led insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6th, and the Nets listed him as out due to personal reasons for the games that followed.
While he was away from the team, reports surfaced about how Irving was very affected by the state of the country generally and needed a break. Many media members and fans, including myself, sympathized with Kyrie and defended him on Twitter against the cruel takes that sports fans commonly lob.
However, Kyrie was then caught at a seemingly crowded, indoor event through instagram pictures. Obviously, there is no excuse for putting yourself or others in danger of getting COVID. Period. Right?
Well apparently to some reasonable folks, there is. Right after the instagram revelation, reports came out that Irving bought a house for George Floyd’s family. People started listing out all of the good that Irving has done for so many folks, and how thoughtful of a person he seems to be.
While Kyrie is certainly generous and thoughtful, none of that excuses his careless actions. The NBA twitter community has lambasted Rudy Gobert and Lou Williams for similar transgressions last season. Yet, the only one that people defended by pointing to good deeds is Kyrie Irving. Which brings me to my favorite Stannis Baratheon quote:
“A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad the good” said Stannis to Sir Davos. I’m not going to explain the plot of Game of Thrones here, but you should see why this applies to Kyrie Irving’s situation even without watching the show. Kyrie’s good acts/qualities--of which they are many--don't excuse the things he does wrong.
Yet, a lot of people around the NBA try to push that storyline. The issue with this narrative is that only those players we know do “good” get extended grace/sympathy whereas others get roasted without regard to their redeeming qualities.
We don’t have to look far for a counter-example. James Harden, Irving’s new teammate, was raked over the coals for going to several parties before the season, in part because a lot of people thought he was doing it just to get traded (which he totally was). Yet, we never heard about the fact that Harden donated over $1 million to the City of Houston after Hurricane Harvey or that he has helped thousands of families in Houston with basic needs for years.
Harden’s good does not wash out his bad, and no one attempted to say otherwise. But many think pieces tried to make that argument for Irving. I’m not ignoring the many silly, often vitriolic takes against Irving. However, Harden simply did not get any counterbalance to the hate and Irving did.
Here’s the solution: treat every athlete (and frankly every person) like they are Kyrie Irving. When an athlete does something wrong or says something silly, criticize the error while also finding the good in them. You can believe both that “Kyrie did something recklessly selfish” and “Kyrie is a good person.” We all want to be understood and sympathized with. So I hope that we are willing to extend that empathy to more players than just Kyrie Irving.
Fast Breaks
Back to that Cavs-Nets game for a second because it made me say something that I never thought I would say: I like watching the Cleveland Cavaliers without Lebron James! Cleveland is not good. But they are fun with a nice mixture made up of an insanely intense clutch scorer (Collin Sexton), an old school big adapting to the modern world (Andre Drummond), Larry Nance Jr (Larry Nance Jr) and a bunch of interesting pieces. Kevin Love is still around too! I doubt anything comes from this Cavs season, but they are worth watching. (Alex Insert: I had to beg Gabe to turn this game on like 6 times, I promise the Cavs are fun! Also, Larry Nance Jr. might be the best overall player on this team and it’s hard to explain exactly why?)
During the Nets-Cavs game, I caught myself thinking of the time that Collin Sexton’s Alabama team had to play with three players (due to fouls and injuries) and still almost beat Minnesota because Sexton went berserk. I think Louisville’s Dana Evans had a vaguely similar moment in her team’s win against Wake Forest. With the #1 ranked Cardinals trailing late to the Demon Deacons, Evans said “I’m not losing this game.” She put up 10 points in the final 7 minutes to push Louisville to victory. I think we’ll point to this game during Evans’s WNBA career as a time where we should have realized how much grit accompanies her talent. I’m not a draft expert or a scout, but Evans is one of those players that will at least be useful because of her ability to score late in games. Sunday’s win was a great example of why.
During the AFC Championship, Bills QB Josh Allen tried to throw the ball away as he ran out of bounds. For Allen to avoid an intentional grounding penalty, he needed to throw the ball past the line of scrimmage. His attempt did just that but well out of bounds. The refs then encountered a philosophical football question: how far does the line of scrimmage extend? Is it only between the line markers? Does it extend to the stands? Does it wrap around the Earth to connect with itself on the other sideline? Apparently, it goes far enough for Allen to avoid the penalty. But the question of the line of scrimmage persists, just like the question of how many angels fit on the head of a pin.
Lobbing Links
There’s Nothing Strange About Kelly Loeffler Owning A WNBA Team by Maitreyi Anantharaman for Defector
What stoics could teach us about college football by Matt Brown for Extra Points
Geno Auriemma: ‘Not as many women want to coach.’ His daughter: ‘DAD. WALK IT BACK.’ by Sally Jenkins for the Washington Post (from March 31, 2017)
A Basketball Fairy Tale in Middle America about the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder by Sam Anderson for the New York Times (from November 8, 2012)
To go along with our podcast on the 2011-12 OKC Thunder
Chiefs, Bills And Finding Yourself In Fandom by Lyndsey D’arcangelo for Fansided
Follow us on Twitter: @ballandorder_
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or on whatever podcast app you use (you’re on your own for those links).