Kyrie Irving apparently just wants to play in the NBA in peace.
The Boston Celtics star looked extremely frustrated Sunday when he entered the arena, and cameras were filming him.
“I’m not gonna miss any of this sh*t when I am done playing“- Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/S5t3tp9NU8
— NBA RETWEET (@RTNBA) March 3, 2019
He’s now doubling down and claiming that he doesn’t want any of the extra stuff that comes along with being a superstar athlete. (RELATED: Kyrie Irving Says He Won’t ‘Miss Any Of This Sh*t’ When He’s Done Playing)
“I didn’t really come into this game to be cameras in my face, be famous, be a celebrity, whatever embodies that. It’s a little hard for me. I wanted those things when I was younger, but now … I just want to play basketball at a very high level,” Kyrie told the media Monday afternoon, according to Tom Westerholm.
View this post on Instagram
I hate to break it to Irving, but it’s pretty hard to be one of the best athletes in the world these days and not be famous.
Whether he likes it or not, playing basketball at a “high level” in peace just isn’t an option. Everything he does is going to get criticized. That’s just a fact. In the era of social media and around the clock television, there is no escape for sports stars. There just isn’t. I’m not saying I agree with the microscope on them. I’m just stating the facts.
As they say in “Entourage,” part of the reason movie stars get paid the way they do is because they’re expected to be in the public eye.
View this post on Instagram
I can sympathize with a lack of privacy. I really can, but getting paid the kind of money Irving does should make it all easier to swallow.
His current deal is worth $100 million. If that doesn’t make having cameras on your face worth it, then I really don’t know what will.
It should be interesting to see where Irving ends up if his goal is to avoid attention. I’m not sure there’s a single location in the NBA that will fit that measurement.