NEW YORK – Kyrie Irving rejoined the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday after a two-week absence from the team.
“I’m back, I’m glad I’m back,” Irving told reporters. “And we’ve got some great pieces and we’re just going to move on and let my actions and my playing speak for themselves like I intended to do. I just needed a break.”
Irving trained with the team on Tuesday and trainer Steve Nash said he “expects” Irving to play against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. Irving had missed the team’s past seven games – five for personal reasons and two for conditioning.
Irving said he “had a lot of family and personal affairs. So I’ll just leave it there.”
While absent for personal reasons, the league fined Irving $ 50,000 for violating health and safety protocols and attending what appeared to be a family party. He also lost more than $ 800,000 in salary for the two games he missed in quarantine.
Irving declined to answer if he knew he was in violation of the competition’s coronavirus safety rules, saying, “Glad to be back. Thank you.”
The last game Irving played for Brooklyn was on January 5. The next day, a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the Capitol. Irving said on Tuesday that he must “separate” the current political and social events in the United States from playing in the NBA.
“If you don’t create that distinction,” said Irving, “then it’s easy to feel the weight of the world as you go out and play. So I’d lay here and say I’m not doing it. Feel what’s going on. is in the world, and I don’t pay any attention to it either. I just have a tremendous responsibility to continue to serve my community and the less fortunate. And when I’m playing here, the knowledge is left with these guys and commit us to something, as I always say, bigger than ourselves. “
Irving said it is “hard to ignore” what’s going on in the world and he wants to continue with “daily change.” Still, he said he is committed to playing basketball.
“When things get overwhelming in life, you just have to take a step back and realize what’s important,” Irving said. “And I love to play – it has never been a question. I committed myself and this was not even for me.”
Irving apologized to fans who may have been frustrated or disappointed by his absence, saying he understood their perspective because “I started out as a fanatic. I’ve been invested in this organization since childhood.”
“My commitment has always been to bring something special to Brooklyn,” said Irving. “It wasn’t just a championship. It was unity, equality, just bigger things than just the game itself. It took a long time and quite a few valleys to get back home at first. So for me I just take every day, just grateful to be. “
Irving said he addressed his teammates and the organization individually.