Kyrie Irving Apologizes To Fans After Nets Return, 'Happy To Be Back'
Kyrie Irving Apologizes To Fans After Nets Return ... 'Happy To Be Back'
Kyrie Irving is officially BACK!!
After missing 7-straight games due to personal reasons, the Brooklyn Nets superstar made his highly-anticipated return on Tuesday ... and he's got a message for the fans.
"I am back, I am happy to be back, we got some great pieces and we move on and I let my actions and my game speak for itself like I planned on doing," Irving said, according to ESPN's Malika Andrews. "I just needed a pause."
Kyrie further explains he had "a lot of family and personal stuff going on, so just wanna leave it at that.”
Irving declined to speak about potentially violating the league's COVID-19 protocols by attending a birthday party for his sister ... saying he's ready to move forward.
Videos have surfaced of Kyrie Irving at a large birthday gathering alongside his sister, Asia.
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) January 12, 2021 @BillyReinhardt
Kyrie’s sister & dad have birthdays this week.
Given the size of the gathering & now public nature of it, Kyrie might now have to undergo a quarantine period before returning. https://t.co/McrYtFH9XK pic.twitter.com/U4T1KAvMTl
It was a bizarre situation for first-year head coach Steve Nash, who initially admitted he had trouble communicating with the 28-year-old guard during his time away.
Irving says he has talked to his teammates and he's been welcomed back ... adding, "I have a conversation with each one of them and we move on."
"I want to make changes daily. There are so many oppressed communities and so many things going on that are bigger than a ball going in the rim"
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) January 19, 2021 @SNYNets
Kyrie Irving speaks on mental health, along with the political and social environment in America: pic.twitter.com/7UebJABzMm
Irving -- who has been active in numerous causes off the court during his career -- also spoke about the state of the country ... and delivered a strong statement about what really matters in his life.
Kyrie is expected to suit up for the Nets' next game Wednesday night ... which just so happens to be against his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.