Disgruntled Boston Celtics Fan Throws Water Bottle At Kyrie Irving's Head

Kyrie Irving reacts to a fan being arrested for throwing a bottle at him and says spectators are treating players like they are in a human zoo.

Source: Maddie Malhotra / Getty

Since the NBA playoffs have started and fans have returned to stands, there has been a noticeable increase in irresponsible and problematic fan behavior.

Before the behavior started, Kyrie Irving pointed out racist chants and other behavior when playing as a Celtic and on other teams in their arena. People had the nerve to question if it actually happens. Unfortunately, the fans didn’t take long to prove him right when a crowd-goer threw a water bottle at Kyrie, leading to him being banned and arrested.

Last week, Russell Westbrook also had an unfortunate run-in with a fan. The Wizard’s point guard had popcorn dumped on his head after suffering from an ankle injury. The disgruntled fan poured buttery corned kernels on Westbrook as he was leaving the court, luckily, the stadium staff was there to hold him back from escalating the situation. The latest incident happened just last night, when a fan ran on the court in the middle of the game, also resulting in an arrest and ban.

Now, Kyrie is responding to the fan throwing a bottle at him, blaming the entitlement in the area.

“It’s unfortunate that sports has come to a lot of this kind of crossroads where you’re seeing a lot of old ways come up,” he told reporters after the game.

“It’s been that way in history in terms of entertainment, performers and sports for a long period of time, just underlying racism and just treating people like they’re in a human zoo.

“Throwing stuff at people and saying things. It’s a certain point where it gets to be too much […] people just feel very entitled out here.”

The NBA has to get this under control immediately for EVERYONE’S safety. We all understand the bubble from last year was already expensive on top of not being able to sell tickets and it’s good the money is flowing again, but this behavior cannot continue. The last thing we need is a fan and a player fighting after weeks of unchecked entitlement.