It's not mental health man, he's just a higher grade entitled a****** athlete who has had his a** kissed his entire life.
Watching them all implode in the playoffs will be so epic, dare I say maybe even better than Portland 2000 if we play our cards right.
His playlist is irrelevant to the point. I don't tell other groups what words they should or shouldn't use amongst themselves. I don't know people who aren't black try to tell us what words or what should offend us or doesn't offend us. I don't do tell any other group what should or shouldn't offend them and we are entitled to that same respect.
That's fine and all, but contradictions and hypocrisy seem to be themes in these "outrage" discussions.
I agree with your point entirely, but in this particular case it would be hard for me to believe Schröder knew in advance that Kyrie was offended by that word. It seems very much a case by case thing, and that has to be incredibly difficult to navigate. To me the timing feels suspect, because I hear athletes on tv calling eachother that all the time, and nothing ever happens, so what changed here? Is it a new development for Kyrie, in which case I’d think he needs to give guys some leeway who maybe didn’t know he felt this way? Is it possibly that Schröder is German? I’m just saying, who knows, I don’t know how these things work. I make fun of Kyrie for the flat earth thing, but I don’t actually think he’s crazy, I think he does have legit mental health issues though, and I also think if he’s changed his stance on things like the use of that word, he may also be on a journey of self-discovery and evolution, which I respect. But again, he in that position I would think would need to make his stances more clear if he expects others to avoid certain words and such with him, like how would they know unless he put that out there. Just my thinking out loud on the matter, I don’t so quickly dismiss something like this from Kyrie, like I said if that’s his stance that’s his stance, he should he respected, but people would have to know that. You can see in the exchange here he definitely got upset, but Schröder didn’t seem to recognize what he was doing wrong at all, changing things like this take time and patience IMO, not going right to anger. If I said anything here that offends anyone I apologize, hope that’s not the case, just trying to get a clearer picture of this.
I think over time the players with issues in relationships become obvious. Many people blamed Kobe for not wanting to play with Shaq. But as more and more came out, I was glad we stuck with Kobe. Shaq continues to show he is a very petty person. (Javale McGee, Charles Barkley, etc) I thought Lebron was likely more at fault between the two of them when Kyrie wanted out. I think that narrative is noticeably shifting in James favor over time. I'm sure no stars are easy to work with, but some less than others.
My issue is that Kyrie is all over Dennis here. It's not like Dennis is going at him and yelling the N-word. Dennis in the play is talking to the refs then Kyrie gets into Dennis. Seems pretty stupid to get all offended when you're the one instigating the response. It's like a Catholic nun getting upset at the use of an F bomb after the nun pushes a student when the student is talking to another nun
Interesting. Spoiler: Kyrie uses derogatory racial slur. I think Kyrie is a confused man, that's all. But it's not my place to discuss this, I would let him and Dennis figure this out.
this is kinda what i was trying to say earlier but didn't have time. i don't know what his issue is with the word or how consistently his outrage is applied to it. but that's sort of the point, too--is this going to be a personal crusade? if kd says it in practice, will you educate him in the ways of oppression? it just suddenly became an issue because one guy--unaware of your policy and probably for good reason--said the word. it's part of a long, troubling pattern of behavior from kyrie, imo. actually reminds me a little of kanye west in some ways. anyway, i'll stop approaching my soapboxes regarding both mental illness and our society's increasing disinterest in being tethered to a shared concept of reality.
Of course, he could have changed his mind and I respect that 100%. It's a sign of personal growth and it's quite possible that he is on some kind of spiritual "journey" that will ultimately help him become a better person. He's trying different stuff - from Native American shamanism to Islam - and I truly hope some of that will help him grow, but the thing with this is... you can't use the word, then change your mind, then suddenly get in people's face for doing the same without first letting them know, or at least trying to educate them in some way. He got in Schroeder's face first because he wasn't able to defend him, then when Dennis reacted they way he did, Kyrie went ballistic and was ejected for his behavior. You can't expect the guy who has been in the league as long as Dennis Schroeder - hearing you and other guys use the word often - to suddenly know that you've changed your stance because you've been on a spiritual journey. How is Dennis supposed to know that? Like, at least be civil, pull him aside after the game and tell him how you feel and why. Other than that, I don't have any problem with him being offended etc. If he's sincere, more power to him.
I'm confused on this wording above. Was it because Dennis was up into him too aggressively physically? Or was he talking trash because Dennis tried, and failed in that instance, and fouled him? The camera got there late if I recall right. Probably was on the clowns in the studio too long one of those frequent times it happens on TNT and ESPN/ABC.
I think he was just frustrated because Dennis played very well and he wasn't able to stop him without fouling. Basically, Dennis had the ball, got fouled by Kyrie. They went to inbound, Kyrie got in Dennis's face and started talking (trash?) being visibly upset. At that point Dennis is not doing anything, this was before he said what he said to Kyrie. And the ref was there the whole time, hitting Kyrie with the T eventually. Why was Kyrie upset before anything was said? Not even Dennis knew, apparently, if you look at the replay. For all I know... maybe Kyrie thought Dennis flopped on that play?
I guess we can watch Shannon's explanation here, I honestly have nothing to add... he said it well (worth watching):
Born and raised in NYC and went to public school from K-12. Everyone and their grandma said the n word ending with a. It's completely different, contextually, from someone using the n word ending with er. I'm not black and said it in front of blacks when I was talking with friends and people I knew in our group of classmates. No one would bat an eye... It's the equivalent of homie, bro, buddy, etc., For Kyrie to have an issue with it is quite laughable considering I'm guessing half the league say it every game. If he wants to change the culture, he needs to go appeal to rap artists who use that word ten times every song. My guess is he's just upset Schroder was dogging him all game.
Dennis can't be the lead guard. He is AWFUL at getting the offense to work. He is, basically, not a PG. These last games without Bron showed it very clearly. I am not paying 20 per for a 2-and-D player. Just awful. These last games, if he isn't ISOing, he is useless. Right now, for example, watching the Knicks game... he passes out of a PNR to a rolling Dre... at the 3pt line. Obviously a turnover, because that is too far, and Dre can't dribble. Nah... he just doesn't get it as a PG. And Frank doesn't play THT instead, for some reason.
