Kyrie Irving believe the world is flat. He is skeptical of the moon landing. He is suspicious of dinosaurs. He doesn’t trust “answers given to us by books, media, internet, etc.” In other words, his worldview tends to be a bit… off-beat.
But even by his standards, Kyrie’s latest meditation warrants some raised eyebrows.
After Irving’s Celtics lost to the Knicks on Thursday, a reporter asked the point guard his thoughts on playing on Christmas Day. Here was his full response:
“The hoopla on Christmas doesn’t really—I don’t really get into that. I don’t really necessarily think of Christmas as a holiday. I’m just happy to be with my family. I’m looking forward to playing in front of the fans on the 25th and just playing against a high-level Washington team and going against great guys in there and of course opening presents and that whole thing.”
Kyrie Irving does not think of Christmas as a holiday, still excited to play in front of Boston fans on holiday. pic.twitter.com/EDnAA0nsin
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) December 22, 2017
Look, many people don’t celebrate Christmas, either because they’re not Christian (duh) or because they’re just not into it. But it sure takes some mental gymnastics to suggest America’s most celebrated holiday is not actually a holiday. I mean, I’m Jewish, but I wouldn’t say Christmas isn’t a holiday. Like, it’s right there in the dictionary. Then again, Kyrie probably doesn’t believe in dictionaries, so maybe that won’t help.
Also, if Kyrie will spend December 25 hanging out with his family and opening presents (in addition to facing the Wizards), it sure sounds like he does celebrate Christmas.
Anyway, Kyrie’s lack of belief in Christmas probably fits in somewhere in his wider, trust-nothing worldview, but I don’t exist on a high enough plane to make sense of it.
Kyrie rubbed his third eye while saying “The hoopla on Christmas, I don’t really get into that.” pic.twitter.com/duUVIohYiN
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) December 22, 2017