Kyrie Irving shrugs off Nets criticism: 'They even crucified Martin Luther King'

Kyrie Irving seems to have made it a habit of providing tidbits to the media since his comeback from injury. The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Philadelphia 76ers at the Barclays Center on Monday night (Tuesday morning IST). Kyrie Irving sat out the game against the 76ers owing to tightness in his hamstring as the Nets capped off a solid first half with a sorry second-half display in a 111-117 loss at home. Speaking after the game, Kyrie Irving had a few choice words for his critics. 

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"They crucified Martin Luther King" - Kyrie Irving invokes MLK to shrug off criticism

Kyrie Irving missed 26 games this season owing to a shoulder injury as the Brooklyn Nets struggled to keep pace in the Eastern Conference in his absence. Kendrick Perkins was one of Kyrie Irving's vocal critics during that injury spell. On Twitter last year, Kendrick Perkins accused Kyrie Irving of planning his absence in order to miss the Brooklyn Nets' visit to the home of the Boston Celtics, TD Garden, so as to circumvent any jeers from Celtics fans on the night. "All of a sudden, two weeks before he has to return to Boston he's injured. Sounds like a setup plan to me", Kendrick Perkins told a radio station last year. Kyrie Irving addressed the ever-increasing number of critics going after him, in his post-match comments following the Nets' defeat to the 76ers.

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"When I was out for those seven weeks and not saying anything and still people are still saying things about me. It’s inevitable. They crucified Martin Luther King for speaking about peace and social integration. You can go back to historical leaders and great people in society that do great things, and they’re still going to talk s*** about them. It is what it is." - Kyrie Irving to the media at Barclays Center

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