There was a Washington Post article about Kyrie recently that essentially said “you don’t have to shut up and dribble, but maybe you should shut up” which I think perfectly encapsulates the Left’s response to him. This all was entirely inevitable - you spend YEARS telling people whose primary skill is athletic that their opinions and beliefs are valuable and important and of course they will sometimes express beliefs you don’t share. It exposes the total emptiness of the “shut up and dribble” debate. It was framed as a discussion of self-expression, but it was NEVER that. Both Left and Right want athletes to be empty ideological avatars and the second they act like actual living humans they become pariahs.
The Left told athletes to be themselves and advocate for causes they believe in and Kyrie listened. And another finger curls on the monkey’s paw.
We always give way too much credence to what rich people say and do. Elon Musk won the genetic lottery, got lucky selling a company that failed which lead to getting on the ground floor of another company which lead to buying into Tesla and SpaceX. Surely he's made some savvy and aggressive moves - but in large circles you're expected to revere what he says as though he's earned it by inventing Tesla or PayPal or whatever else. Really he's a super rich dude who says literally anything that pops into his head. Some of it might be useful information. A lot of it sounds like the ramblings of some drunk tech bros over a few IPAs.
Kyrie is the no different. And I could probably draw a number of similarities to Irving and Musk. But the main point is he's a rich dude who says and does whatever he wants - whether he's thought through it first or not. Maybe he'll say or do something worth paying attention to. That doesn't mean everything he says or does deserves our attention.
Regardless of the issue - It's fine if Irving wants to speak out and people want to listen. And I know the media is going to amplify his voice over others. But the people and the media collectively giving his voice more weight on issues is kind of embarrassing.
Want someone to inspire you to protest a workplace vaccine mandate? There are no shortage of working class people who have lost their jobs and been given a platform.
Want to take part in some big social justice protest? Again, lots of people to look to.
Irving gets to take all these stands while sacrificing nothing. Ali was banned from his sport over his views and stances. It's not at all a valid comparison.
It is a pleasure to read your writing, Ethan. Thank you as always for giving me food for thought. I’m still chewing on last week’s post. Keep it coming! Cheers.
I know this is a banal observation in the era of social media, but part of this is driven by the insatiable need for content. What was newspapers became cnn then talk radio then sports center then espn talkathons then espn2 and now Twitter. We need people like Kyrie who serve as ciphers for whatever narrative you want (largely because whatever he says is either so incoherent or nonsensical to be open to use by whoever wants to advance their agenda). Kyrie serves the purpose of being just interesting enough to keep the pot stirring without being nuanced or principled enough to actually generate intelligent debate. In other words, he is the perfect avatar for 2021 media. Great piece, as always.
Kyrie's stance on refusing to get the vaccine is all fur coat and no knickers. He throws out soundbites that sound logical at a surface level but make little sense when put into context. Personally, I do not care what Kyrie thinks, I got the vaccine willingly to protect myself and my family but it does say a lot about society when the thoughts of one man are parroted repeatedly with no real discussion. Either side of the aisle is trying to turn Kyrie into a villain or hero as they believe that coarse, simple messaging appeals to their demographics. They fail to understand that people are intelligent and that logical reasoning can cut through the bullshit.
I agree with the many observations you made on this topic. Republicans are happy when anyone not labeled as a crazy white supremacist by the aligned media speaks out against topics that are censored. I can’t even post anything on the Athletic about vaccine hesitancy without my comment getting hidden. Irving makes the aligned media uncomfortable because they have to spin the story to make him look crazy rather than have an open conversation about his opinion on the topic.
Regarding the statement - Firm grasp on the degree to which vaccine mitigates spread long term.I would like to say - how about short term? Deaths in New York 1000 a day in April, now 30.. That’s with less social distancing more opening of movement. The variable - vaccines and natural immunity due to infected but you don’t die from vaccines to get immunity - you can die from Covid to get it. I remember when people didn’t know about the “ long term” effects of HIV meds. Now that the long term is over the answer is a disease that is more manageable than diabetes.
Kyrie’s vaccine hesitancy is a point of privilege that most of his NBA brethren don’t have (or don’t care to exercise) due to his extensive $$$ earnings. I’m just not sure what his end game is. The Ricky Williams route seems like the most obvious but I think Kyrie craves the spotlight too much
It seems to me that if anyone on the left or in the media stood up for Kyrie, the right would have no ground to claim.
I think the holes in the left's manufactured consent leads directly to these 'strange bedfellow' situations. This is not the first instance, and it's far from the last.
There was a Washington Post article about Kyrie recently that essentially said “you don’t have to shut up and dribble, but maybe you should shut up” which I think perfectly encapsulates the Left’s response to him. This all was entirely inevitable - you spend YEARS telling people whose primary skill is athletic that their opinions and beliefs are valuable and important and of course they will sometimes express beliefs you don’t share. It exposes the total emptiness of the “shut up and dribble” debate. It was framed as a discussion of self-expression, but it was NEVER that. Both Left and Right want athletes to be empty ideological avatars and the second they act like actual living humans they become pariahs.
The Left told athletes to be themselves and advocate for causes they believe in and Kyrie listened. And another finger curls on the monkey’s paw.
"America’s right ... waving back with all the subtle panache of a wacky inflatable tube man at a car dealership"
Hahaha. This turn of phrase is why I ponied up the big bucks.
We always give way too much credence to what rich people say and do. Elon Musk won the genetic lottery, got lucky selling a company that failed which lead to getting on the ground floor of another company which lead to buying into Tesla and SpaceX. Surely he's made some savvy and aggressive moves - but in large circles you're expected to revere what he says as though he's earned it by inventing Tesla or PayPal or whatever else. Really he's a super rich dude who says literally anything that pops into his head. Some of it might be useful information. A lot of it sounds like the ramblings of some drunk tech bros over a few IPAs.
Kyrie is the no different. And I could probably draw a number of similarities to Irving and Musk. But the main point is he's a rich dude who says and does whatever he wants - whether he's thought through it first or not. Maybe he'll say or do something worth paying attention to. That doesn't mean everything he says or does deserves our attention.
Regardless of the issue - It's fine if Irving wants to speak out and people want to listen. And I know the media is going to amplify his voice over others. But the people and the media collectively giving his voice more weight on issues is kind of embarrassing.
Want someone to inspire you to protest a workplace vaccine mandate? There are no shortage of working class people who have lost their jobs and been given a platform.
Want to take part in some big social justice protest? Again, lots of people to look to.
Irving gets to take all these stands while sacrificing nothing. Ali was banned from his sport over his views and stances. It's not at all a valid comparison.
It is a pleasure to read your writing, Ethan. Thank you as always for giving me food for thought. I’m still chewing on last week’s post. Keep it coming! Cheers.
I know this is a banal observation in the era of social media, but part of this is driven by the insatiable need for content. What was newspapers became cnn then talk radio then sports center then espn talkathons then espn2 and now Twitter. We need people like Kyrie who serve as ciphers for whatever narrative you want (largely because whatever he says is either so incoherent or nonsensical to be open to use by whoever wants to advance their agenda). Kyrie serves the purpose of being just interesting enough to keep the pot stirring without being nuanced or principled enough to actually generate intelligent debate. In other words, he is the perfect avatar for 2021 media. Great piece, as always.
Kyrie's stance on refusing to get the vaccine is all fur coat and no knickers. He throws out soundbites that sound logical at a surface level but make little sense when put into context. Personally, I do not care what Kyrie thinks, I got the vaccine willingly to protect myself and my family but it does say a lot about society when the thoughts of one man are parroted repeatedly with no real discussion. Either side of the aisle is trying to turn Kyrie into a villain or hero as they believe that coarse, simple messaging appeals to their demographics. They fail to understand that people are intelligent and that logical reasoning can cut through the bullshit.
I agree with the many observations you made on this topic. Republicans are happy when anyone not labeled as a crazy white supremacist by the aligned media speaks out against topics that are censored. I can’t even post anything on the Athletic about vaccine hesitancy without my comment getting hidden. Irving makes the aligned media uncomfortable because they have to spin the story to make him look crazy rather than have an open conversation about his opinion on the topic.
Regarding the statement - Firm grasp on the degree to which vaccine mitigates spread long term.I would like to say - how about short term? Deaths in New York 1000 a day in April, now 30.. That’s with less social distancing more opening of movement. The variable - vaccines and natural immunity due to infected but you don’t die from vaccines to get immunity - you can die from Covid to get it. I remember when people didn’t know about the “ long term” effects of HIV meds. Now that the long term is over the answer is a disease that is more manageable than diabetes.
Kyrie’s vaccine hesitancy is a point of privilege that most of his NBA brethren don’t have (or don’t care to exercise) due to his extensive $$$ earnings. I’m just not sure what his end game is. The Ricky Williams route seems like the most obvious but I think Kyrie craves the spotlight too much
Nice read.
It seems to me that if anyone on the left or in the media stood up for Kyrie, the right would have no ground to claim.
I think the holes in the left's manufactured consent leads directly to these 'strange bedfellow' situations. This is not the first instance, and it's far from the last.