Kyrie Irving takes responsibility for profane outburst directed towards 76ers fan
— -- WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving took responsibility for a profane outburst directed at a fan in Philadelphia that yelled at him and referenced LeBron James during Friday's game against the 76ers.
In a video that circulated on social media after Friday's game, a fan is heard shouting, ""Kyrie, where's LeBron?" as Celtics players walked down their tunnel to the visitor's locker room at halftime. Irving appears to look up towards the fan before offering a profane response.
Irving said he talked to the league office about his outburst on Saturday but was waiting to hear if he'd be fined. Asked if he had any regrets about the incident, Irving was emphatic he did not.
"Hell no," said Irving. " [The fan was] man enough to record it on video, then that's all him. I'm glad he got his [social media] name out there and then, kinda, 5 seconds of fame and it going viral -- that's the social media platform we live on. I take full responsibility what I said and excuse (to) the kids at home and you move on."
Later Irving added: "At the end of the day, we're human. It's in heat of the moment and frustrations arise, we were at halftime, we were down by 4, in an environment, a season-opener in Philly. Being with a young team like we have here and staying composed, handling that before we go in the locker room and addressing what we have to do in the locker room and going out and handling business and getting the W, that's really the only thing that matters to me.
"It's up to the league at this point. But, like I said, I'm going to take full responsibility for what I said. I don't have any regrets for it."
Celtics coach Brad Stevens acknowledged Irving's outburst but said he hadn't seen the video yet.
"I think he's been talked to by the league. I don't know what they told him," said Stevens. "I wasn't there and I haven't seen the video."
Asked what he would say to Irving, Stevens responded, "You guys know what the right thing to do is. People make mistakes, hopefully they learn from them. There's a right and wrong, and if you're in the wrong, you have to own up to it."
Irving was talking about being a leader to a young team later in his chat with reporters when he made light of his outburst.
"I'm very unwavering in my approach, unless you're talking about me going at halftime and saying those remarks," Irving joked. "I'm usually unwavering, so if that echoes to the group, I feel we're in a great place."
