Video of Kyrie Irving stomping on Celtics logo sparks NBA Twitter debate over 'classless act'

Jacob Camenker

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Video of Kyrie Irving stomping on Celtics logo sparks NBA Twitter debate over 'classless act' image

It's clear that Kyrie Irving still holds some animosity towards the Celtics organization.

As Irving scored 39 and saw his Nets push the Celtics to the brink of elimination on Sunday night with a 141-126 victory, things started to get chippier on the floor. And despite Boston never making the game close, the TD Garden crowd continued to rain chants of "F— you Kyrie" down on their former star throughout the contest.

Irving ended up having the last laugh with the win. But after the game was over and the team's exited the floor, Irving did something that enraged some Boston fans. He appeared to stomp on the Celtics' logo, known as Lucky the Leprechaun, as he left the court.

Sports fans take their logos personally. We've seen it in the past when Baker Mayfield planted an Oklahoma flag in the middle of the Ohio State midfield logo after a Sooners win and when Terrell Owens celebrated a touchdown on the Cowboys' logo at midfield.

MORE: Why did Kyrie Irving leave the Celtics in 2019?

Now, Celtics supporters, including an all-time Boston great Cedric Maxwell, are asking why Irving felt the need to perform the "classless act" after the game.

That said, just as many are defending Irving's actions and took some time to support the Nets star and joke about his postgame antics.

In the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big deal. And Irving's actions shouldn't be used in any way, shape or form to justify the actions of a Celtics fan who threw a water bottle at him after the game.

MORE: Kyrie Irving hoping to avoid "subtle racism" in Boston

Being at the center of controversy in Boston is nothing new for Irving, who left the team on rough terms back in 2019. But as he said after the game, he's used to being in "hostile environments" and was just happy to win.

“I’ve been part of a lot of hostile environments since I was a kid,” Irving said, per MassLive.com's Brian Robb. “It’s not the first time in my life that I’ve had to bounce back from one of those types of performances that isn’t typical of me, in terms of the big stage, and I can’t do it alone. So in between the last day or so, just spending some time with my teammates, spending time with myself and having conversations to keep me balanced and grounded and go out there and have fun and play basketball at a high level.

"I’m grateful to be able to put on a uniform and just go out there and perform with some guys who are very selfless and just wanted to see some good basketball out there and we did the little things to help each other win.”

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.