Originally Posted by
CrazyNotCrazie
From what I recall at the time, Kyrie was our first OAD. But when he showed up on campus, that was the plan and the coaching staff fully endorsed it (not that anyone requires K's blessing). I vaguely recall hearing about a comment by K that he would not permit Kyrie to stick around for a second year because he was too good. I also have not seen anyone criticize him for not staying at Duke past the first year. But anyone who does is doing it more out of general opposition to OAD than targeted specifically at Kyrie. I am not a huge fan of OAD but at this point, we have had ten years to make peace with it.
Unfortunately, so many conversations about all topics these days boil down to black and white, good and evil, Duke and UNC. I love watching Kyrie play. I am well aware of his work in the community and think it is spectacular. He represented Duke very well during his year in Durham. I give Duke guys the benefit of the doubt but I don't just blindly support them either.
I am all for freedom of speech and I generally feel positively about athletes using their platform to bring about positive change. But Kyrie has also had some questionable, frustrating behavior. I don't know what is going on behind the scenes in his life but someone needs to tell him that some of his behavior is taking away from the impact of all of the good he is doing. Or maybe he doesn't care.
He is in the public sphere so I am allowed to have my opinion of him. And that opinion reflects both the positives and the negatives. Just because someone comments negatively on something he says doesn't mean they totally hate him and don't appreciate the good. And just because someone comments positively on something he does doesn't mean they are ignoring the negative.