Kyrie Irving got into it with Boston Celtics fans just a few nights ago as the Nets lost game one of their first-round series. With chants being directed at Kyrie, the Nets point guard decided to flip fans the bird and then went on to make post-game comments about how he is just matching the energy of the fans. Following these gestures, Kyrie was fined $50,000 by the NBA as the league has a very strict policy as it pertains to this sort of conduct.
Today on First Take, Stephen A. Smith and Chris Russo debated Kyrie's actions and whether or not they were warranted. Russo took the position that Kyrie should know better, all while Smith decided to defend Kyrie, and even went after the NBA for becoming incredibly soft as of late.
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“I’m down on Kyrie Irving too for a lot of reasons. Sunday ain’t one of them," Smith said. "The NBA has gotten a little bit soft, and I’m not talking about the players, I’m talking about the league office.”
Smith has been pretty hard on Kyrie over the last year or so, but in this particular instance, it is cool to see him taking Kyrie's side. After all, Celtics fans are ruthless and someone needs to keep them in check, otherwise, things could get even more out of hand.
