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  1. #1
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    Congrats to new dad again, Kyrie!

    According to the below, Kyrie welcomed a son yesterday. Take note coaching staff!

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/kyrie-irving-welcomes-first-child-133514203.html


    (Having trouble hyperlinking on mobile).
    Last edited by bundabergdevil; 06-16-2021 at 10:55 AM.

  2. #2
    Congrats to Kyrie.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by bundabergdevil View Post
    Congrats to new dad Kyrie!

    According to the below, Kyrie welcomed a son yesterday. Take note coaching staff!

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/kyrie-irv...133514203.html


    (Having trouble hyperlinking on mobile).
    Definitely congrats! However, Kyrie is not a new dad. He already has a daughter born in 2015. It's his first child with his current partner, however, which is what the headline states but could easily be misunderstood: "Kyrie Irving welcomes first child with partner Marlene Wilkerson."

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedog View Post
    Definitely congrats! However, Kyrie is not a new dad. He already has a daughter born in 2015. It's his first child with his current partner, however, which is what the headline states but could easily be misunderstood: "Kyrie Irving welcomes first child with partner Marlene Wilkerson."
    Whoops. Maybe one of the mods can modify my title. Thanks for the clarification.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
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    Sarasota, Florida
    Well, I guess that I'll have to take a different perspective. Like other Duke fans, i have marveled at Kyrie's extraordinary athletic ability on a basketball court, and I felt so sorry for him when, as a younger man - a freshman to be precise - he was robbed of his one full season in college basketball. He was very appealing as a kid jumping off the Duke bench and cheering for his team. I also respect and admire his active life outside of basketball, his charities and causes and even some of his eccentricities whether or not I agree with everything he endorses. But what is there to admire about his and his two girlfriends' choosing to conceive children at least one of whom will grow up without a father in the family married to the mother? Kyrie seems like a decent enough person who will, and certainly can, make sure that both of his children's financial needs are provided for, and that's a good thing. It is not the same as being an in the home father married to the mother of a child. Millions of single mothers can, and do, raise well adjusted and productive children. Kyrie's bringing this new and completely dependent little person into the world under these circumstances, and to have done it twice, strikes me as irresponsible and selfish on Kyrie's part and the mothers' as well. It's a horrible example for young men who look up to and admire him and it diminishes fatherhood.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Jedweb View Post
    Well, I guess that I'll have to take a different perspective. Like other Duke fans, i have marveled at Kyrie's extraordinary athletic ability on a basketball court, and I felt so sorry for him when, as a younger man - a freshman to be precise - he was robbed of his one full season in college basketball. He was very appealing as a kid jumping off the Duke bench and cheering for his team. I also respect and admire his active life outside of basketball, his charities and causes and even some of his eccentricities whether or not I agree with everything he endorses. But what is there to admire about his and his two girlfriends' choosing to conceive children at least one of whom will grow up without a father in the family married to the mother? Kyrie seems like a decent enough person who will, and certainly can, make sure that both of his children's financial needs are provided for, and that's a good thing. It is not the same as being an in the home father married to the mother of a child. Millions of single mothers can, and do, raise well adjusted and productive children. Kyrie's bringing this new and completely dependent little person into the world under these circumstances, and to have done it twice, strikes me as irresponsible and selfish on Kyrie's part and the mothers' as well. It's a horrible example for young men who look up to and admire him and it diminishes fatherhood.
    1. Many in Kyrie's generation do not see marriage as a desired first step prior to having children like many generations before them. And I'd imagine for elite athletes, that view is even stronger. Some would argue that this does not signify a lack of commitment, but is a contractual/legal difference.
    2. We have no idea how involved or not Kyrie is/will be in the lives of his children. That's a personal matter. He'll certainly be providing $$ though. Certainly, having two children with different mothers would make his heavy involvement in both children's lives more challenging. I'd imagine, again, many elite athletes are not able to be very involved in their children's lives due to scheduled/traveling and the like and sounds like he and his current partner were quite aligned with expectations/planning of their son's birth.

    So, your stance may be accurate but definitely times and perspectives have changed and we don't know (nor should we) all the details. In fact, Kyrie and his partner kept the entire pregnancy secret until the birth somehow.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedog View Post
    1. Many in Kyrie's generation do not see marriage as a desired first step prior to having children like many generations before them. And I'd imagine for elite athletes, that view is even stronger. Some would argue that this does not signify a lack of commitment, but is a contractual/legal difference.
    2. We have no idea how involved or not Kyrie is/will be in the lives of his children. That's a personal matter. He'll certainly be providing $$ though. Certainly, having two children with different mothers would make his heavy involvement in both children's lives more challenging. I'd imagine, again, many elite athletes are not able to be very involved in their children's lives due to scheduled/traveling and the like and sounds like he and his current partner were quite aligned with expectations/planning of the child.
    Boy, is that a sad commentary on the state of society.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Indoor66 View Post
    Boy, is that a sad commentary on the state of society.
    Just relaying what the youngins have told me! I'm a Geriatric Millenial though...(google it).

  9. #9
    What the hell happened to this thread?

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    So… am I still allowed to congratulate him? Because I would like to if that is okay with everyone.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    So… am I still allowed to congratulate him? Because I would like to if that is okay with everyone.
    Do you mean rather than judging him with absolutely no inside information whatsoever? And making massive generalities that seem to be beyond what is reasonable on this board? Yeah, I think you can congratulate him.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by ClemmonsDevil View Post
    Do you mean rather than judging him with absolutely no inside information whatsoever? And making massive generalities that seem to be beyond what is reasonable on this board? Yeah, I think you can congratulate him.
    “Be curious, not judgmental.”

    — Ted Lasso

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Lynchburg, VA
    Congratulations to Kyrie and Marlene! May their new son live a long, healthy, and happy life and may he confidently believe that the earth is a sphere.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
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    Sarasota, Florida
    It seems that my contrarian-to-what-preceded post has generated a little reaction. That wasn't the intent, but it's not surprising. I'd like to respond to a couple of the posts, and then that will be it for me on this thread.

    i seem not to have been entirely successful in making clear that i have enjoyed, and admired Kyrie's remarkable athletic skills and, more important, i admire some of the activities he has undertaken outside of basketball. He is a contributing member of society and given his public platform he is in position to do many beneficial things.

    As to the matter under discussion, his fathering two children with two women, neither of whom is his wife, is irresponsible and unfortunate. Contrary to Clemmonsdevil's assertion, I am not judging him, as an entire human being. I was careful to say that he seems to be a decent, involved person who surely can and probably will provide financially for his children. I did not say that he is or will become another Shawn Kemp, nor do I assume that he will.

    By the way, before somebody goes to the trouble of pointing it out, I have every confidence that Kyrie does not give a rat's behind about my opinion of his behavior.

    I concur with Bluedog's and Indoor66's comments. Respecting Bluedog's Points 1 and 2, we can agree that they are accurate and do not come as news. As to Point 1, though, I wish it were possible to ask the children whether marriage of the parents is a "desired first step." The kids are the products of the parents' choices, and their lives are the most affected. And Bluedog of course is accurate when he writes that "some would say" that not marrying is a contractual or legal matter and does not signify commitment. The argument is, if not fatuous, at least unpersuasive.

    I regret having caused Clemmonsdevil's angry retort. "Judging him with absolutely no inside information whatsoever" is a pretty emotionally freighted phrase. To repeat, I don't think my post can be fairly construed as "judging" Kyrie, the whole man, the entire human being. So far as i am aware, every person who has lived has had some bad moments, no matter the good s/he may have accomplished. To paraphrase the person who became the 42nd President, speaking in a different context, "if perfection is the standard then I fail." Nor is "inside information" essential. Each of us has the right to call a discrete action, or specific behavior, by a public figure unfortunate, selfish, or damaging when we think it is; particularly when the actor is idolized by millions of young men and women who will not have his resources. Children born out of wedlock are a serious social pathology, and the data are clear. As a recent thoughtful article notes, "six decades of social science have established that the most efficient way to increase dysfunction is to increase fatherlessness."

    Anyway, it seemed to me that several of the posts deserved some reply, and i'm stepping off the soapbox, but not before I join mph in his wishes that the little one will have a long, healthy, happy and well-informed life.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Jedweb View Post
    It seems that my contrarian-to-what-preceded post has generated a little reaction. That wasn't the intent, but it's not surprising. I'd like to respond to a couple of the posts, and then that will be it for me on this thread.

    i seem not to have been entirely successful in making clear that i have enjoyed, and admired Kyrie's remarkable athletic skills and, more important, i admire some of the activities he has undertaken outside of basketball. He is a contributing member of society and given his public platform he is in position to do many beneficial things.

    As to the matter under discussion, his fathering two children with two women, neither of whom is his wife, is irresponsible and unfortunate. Contrary to Clemmonsdevil's assertion, I am not judging him, as an entire human being. I was careful to say that he seems to be a decent, involved person who surely can and probably will provide financially for his children. I did not say that he is or will become another Shawn Kemp, nor do I assume that he will.

    By the way, before somebody goes to the trouble of pointing it out, I have every confidence that Kyrie does not give a rat's behind about my opinion of his behavior.

    I concur with Bluedog's and Indoor66's comments. Respecting Bluedog's Points 1 and 2, we can agree that they are accurate and do not come as news. As to Point 1, though, I wish it were possible to ask the children whether marriage of the parents is a "desired first step." The kids are the products of the parents' choices, and their lives are the most affected. And Bluedog of course is accurate when he writes that "some would say" that not marrying is a contractual or legal matter and does not signify commitment. The argument is, if not fatuous, at least unpersuasive.

    I regret having caused Clemmonsdevil's angry retort. "Judging him with absolutely no inside information whatsoever" is a pretty emotionally freighted phrase. To repeat, I don't think my post can be fairly construed as "judging" Kyrie, the whole man, the entire human being. So far as i am aware, every person who has lived has had some bad moments, no matter the good s/he may have accomplished. To paraphrase the person who became the 42nd President, speaking in a different context, "if perfection is the standard then I fail." Nor is "inside information" essential. Each of us has the right to call a discrete action, or specific behavior, by a public figure unfortunate, selfish, or damaging when we think it is; particularly when the actor is idolized by millions of young men and women who will not have his resources. Children born out of wedlock are a serious social pathology, and the data are clear. As a recent thoughtful article notes, "six decades of social science have established that the most efficient way to increase dysfunction is to increase fatherlessness."

    Anyway, it seemed to me that several of the posts deserved some reply, and i'm stepping off the soapbox, but not before I join mph in his wishes that the little one will have a long, healthy, happy and well-informed life.
    Everything you say is, of course, fully your right to think, believe, or articulate. We all have our own prism of values through which we see the world - myself wholly included.

    However, this isn't about how well you did or did not describe your admiration for his on court play or his contributions to society. This isn't about "perfection" or pithy quotes from a former president.

    This is a thread congratulating a former Duke basketball player on the birth of a child. It isn't a place for your moralistic condemnation of someone's choices in their personal life. You say you aren't being judgemental - but if that's true, then what exactly are you doing?

    I may earn my own vacation for this, but I find your post reprehensible and extremely inappropriate. If a Duke women's basketball player was being congratulated for her wedding engagement to a woman, would you deem that a fair place to pop up and say your piece about how inappropriate gay marriage is - without judging, of course...

    You mention the "pathology" of children born out of wedlock - your perspective on unmarried parents is an extremely specific viewpoint. There are economic, racial, and cultural biases inherent in this particular moral high ground you are staking out. I encourage you to be extremely careful when tossing some pebbles around this particular glass domicile. There's also a pathology to racism, class warfare, and religious persecution. For example.

    Your quote "from a recent thoughtful article" regarding "six decades of social science" isn't from a sociological study, but from a veey conservative journalist who also criticizes cohabitation, the sexual revolution and birth control.

    I don't know you, Jedweb, and I will most likely never meet you. But I urge you to reconsider the time and place that you choose to make your arguments against the lifestyle decisions and family decisions made by ANYONE, particularly former Duke basketball players, particularly on threads started to congratulate them on the birth of a child.

    From my own cultural perspective your post is gross and reprehensible and your patronizing tone and explicit disregard for a stranger's context or circumstance is narrow-minded. I mean this in a completely nonjudgmental way, of course. But I'm sure that wasn't your intent, nor do you find it surprising.

  16. #16
    Fatherhood has been the biggest blessing and most difficult challenge I have experienced. Congratulations to Kyrie and his young family. Spend time with those kids, young man. They grow up quick (says the graybeard with a tween).

  17. #17
    Join Date
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    Princeton, NJ
    Quote Originally Posted by Jedweb View Post
    As to the matter under discussion, his fathering two children with two women, neither of whom is his wife, is irresponsible and unfortunate. Contrary to Clemmonsdevil's assertion, I am not judging him, as an entire human being.
    I regret having caused Clemmonsdevil's angry retort. "Judging him with absolutely no inside information whatsoever" is a pretty emotionally freighted phrase. To repeat, I don't think my post can be fairly construed as "judging" Kyrie, the whole man, the entire human being. So far as i am aware, every person who has lived has had some bad moments, no matter the good s/he may have accomplished. To paraphrase the person who became the 42nd President, speaking in a different context, "if perfection is the standard then I fail." Nor is "inside information" essential. Each of us has the right to call a discrete action, or specific behavior, by a public figure unfortunate, selfish, or damaging when we think it is; particularly when the actor is idolized by millions of young men and women who will not have his resources. Children born out of wedlock are a serious social pathology, and the data are clear. As a recent thoughtful article notes, "six decades of social science have established that the most efficient way to increase dysfunction is to increase fatherlessness."
    Seems like you are giving yourself license to be as judgmental as you like about anyone for anything, as long as it is not framed as judging the entire human being.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
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    Dur'm
    Warning, rank speculation ahead:

    I wonder out loud if this may have been a troubled pregnancy, and that it explains some of Kyrie's stranger absences this past season. You know, the ones that were speculated about on this board, but which both the team and his teammates appeared to have no problems with? Contrary to other speculation in this thread, I might suggest that this birth may well explain a few things, and it may actually be a positive indicator of Kyrie's level of involvement with his family.

    But then, that's pure conjecture on my part.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Phredd3 View Post
    Contrary to other speculation in this thread, I might suggest that this birth may well explain a few things, and it may actually be a positive indicator of Kyrie's level of involvement with his family.

    But then, that's pure conjecture on my part.
    I'm in favor of rank speculation when it actually gives a former Duke player the benefit of the doubt.

    It seems there are players that receive that benefit here, and some that never will.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO

    Marriage, 2021, for Top Athletes

    I am all for nuclear families. But in the case of 20-something athletes making over $20 million per year, you can imagine the advice they are receiving from advisors, agents and even family about the perils of marriage contracts and the expense and legal entanglements that might occur. In the place of marriage there may be other financial arrangements agreed to -- and, of course, a child creates legal and financial as well as moral obligations.

    Just some observations...
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

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