Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving spoke out against the American media for their “unfair treatment” of Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant following his recent controversies.
The former Brooklyn Nets guard termed the media’s treatment of the 23-year-old “an overload of judgment from the public court of opinion.”
Kyrie, who is not new to media scrutiny with recent accusations of making anti-semitic comments, has thrown his support behind Morant.
Morant was handed an eight-match ban by the NBA after he was seen brandishing a gun in a social media video.
He was present for the Grizzlies’ 112-108 win over the Mavericks 112-108 on Monday night and he exchanged pleasantries with eight-time All-Star Mavericks.
“I believe any hardship in life builds character,” the 30-year-old said. “When you’re dealing with particular hardships in the public eye, especially with the media being attracted to just keeping up with what we’re doing, or what’s the next kind of grab or story.
“Twelve-ski’s not the only person that’s dealt with real life circumstances. He’s not the only one. And he won’t be the only one. So guess what I’m gonna do? I’m going to stand & make sure that I’m there for my family & my friends. We all make mistakes. We all do things that we regret. But, somehow, when you’re a celebrity & you’re famous, you’re underneath different rules?
“I don’t want to assume anything by every media member, but that’s just the way it seems for me and my perspective, which is there was an overload of judgment on Ja.
“There was an overload of judgment on what I had going on, and there’s usually an overload of judgment from the public court of opinion,” Irving added.
Kyrie Irving and Ja Morant embrace after the Grizzlies beat the Mavs ???? pic.twitter.com/MVGMzNq0bB
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 21, 2023
After Monday’s game, Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins revealed that Morant would return to practice on Tuesday ahead of their back-to-back against the Houston Rockets.
“He is going to be part of practice (Tuesday), and obviously we’re hopeful for Wednesday so long as everything medically clears out,” coach Jenkins said.
Morant is expected to suit up for the Grizzlies as they get set to host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday in the first of two consecutive games in Memphis.
