NEW YORK — Nets star Kyrie Irving has been fined $25,000 for “directing obscene language toward a fan,” the league announced on Thursday.
The incident occurred at the 4:19 mark of the second quarter in Irving’s return to Cleveland — he is a former Cavaliers star — when a fan recorded an interaction between the Nets’ guard and some in the crowd near the court.
Some fans were heckling Irving and Irving suggested those fans should have more reverence for a player who helped deliver Cleveland its only championship in the franchise’s 42-year history.
“I got y’all a championship and y’all motherf------ still ungrateful,” he responded.
Another fan responded: “Hey, it’s just one [championship],” and play continued. The Cavaliers went on to win, 114-107, behind a monster performance from Darius Garland.
Irving’s fine follows a trend of players who have been disciplined for using obscene language to address fans, in public or through the media. The NBA has fined Kevin Durant plenty of times for language, like the $25,000 it levied against him for telling a fan in Atlanta to “shut yo a-- up, motherf-----” during the Nets’ December matchup against the Hawks. He was fined another $15,000 for using “profane language” during a media interview after the Nets’ loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 10.
The league also fined Knicks star Julius Randle $25,000 for what they called an “egregious use” of profane language directed at fans in a postgame interview. Randle made a thumbs-down gesture to fans that booed him at Madison Square Garden, then told them to “shut the f--- up.”
In five games this season, Irving has averaged 22 points, 5.4 assists and 5 rebounds per game on 50% shooting from the field.
