Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving angrily responded to Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder’s use of a racial slur during Saturday night’s game between the two teams.
Both Irving and Schroder were ejected in the wake of the third quarter conflict, which began when Irving fouled Schroder with under 10 minutes left in the quarter.
The incident appeared to be a source of motivation for the Lakers, who led 66-62 at the time. They went on to win the game, 126-101, to improve to 33-20 on the year.
The victory offered a boost to the Lakers who have struggled with key injuries over the past few months and came against a Nets team they could potentially face in the NBA Finals
Less than a day after the brief altercation took place between the two players, Irving was still livid about it and explained his strong response on social media.
The N-word is a derogatory racial slur!
It will never be…
-a term of endearment
-reclaimed
-flipped
NEVER FORGET ITS FOUL AND TRUE HISTORY!
Throw that N-word out the window, right alongside all of those other racist words used to describe my people.We are not slaves or N’s
— Chief Hélà 🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) April 11, 2021
Should the Lakers and Nets manage to reach the finals, the controversy will no doubt be rehashed as one of the storylines for that potential series.
