Kyrie Irving is a seven-time All-Star. He is an NBA champion. He hit in league history. His basketball skills have made him a fan favorite.And yet, despite all of his accomplishments, Irving-related conversations over the past few years have revolved around his opinions on off-court subjects.Irving has been critical of the media ecosystem in the past, saying that those in the industry attempt to and referring to them as both and While reporters and analysts certainly aren't above reproach look no Jake Fisher Jersey further than the Irving also hasn't helped himself with how he has shared his beliefs.The 30-year-old has been a lightning rod for controversy throughout his career, starting with his comments in 2017 regarding a long-debunked theory. During a February 2017 appearance with then-Cavaliers teammates Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson, Irving claimed that the Earth is flat."It's right in front of our faces," Irving said. "I'm telling you it's right in front of our faces. They lie to us. ... There's no concrete information except for the information that they're giving us. They're particularly putting you in a direction of what to believe and what not to believe."The truth is right there. You've just gotta go searching for it. I've been searching for it for a while."(The Earth is not flat. that disproves the flat-Earth theory.)In September 2017, Irving that he was simply trolling everyone by introducing the topic, saying that he spun Carlos Dunlap Jersey the media world into a "frenzy.""It created a division, or, literally, like, stand up there and let all these people throw tomatoes at me, or have somebody think that I'm somehow a different intellectual person because I believe that the world is flat and you think the world is round," Irving said. "It created exactly that. It did exactly that to where it became, like, becauseI think different, does that ever knock my intellectual capacity or the fact that I can think different things than you can?"That was the intent behind it. Like, do your own research. Like, don't come to me and ask me. ... At the end of the day, you're gonna feel and believe what you want to feel. But don't knock my life over here."However, Irving expanded on the theory while speaking to Geno Auriemma in October 2017. He told theUConn women's basketball coach that he had figured out there is "no real picture of Earth" after doing his own research.He once again danced around the theory in a June 2018 interview and wouldn't directly answer whether he truly believed the Earth is flat."Can you openly admit that you know the Earth is constitutionally round? Like, you know that for sure? Like, I don't know," Irving said. "I was never trying to convince anyone that the world is flat. I'm not being an advocate for the world being completely flat."No, I don't know. I really Kerry Wynn Jersey don't. It's fun to think about, though. It's fun to have that conversation. It is absolutely fun because people get so agitated and mad."Irving attempted to finally put an end to the flat-Earth questions at the Forbes Under 30 event in October 2018. He apologized for not realizing how his words could impact young students and .Kyrie apologizes for saying the world is flat. Nicole Yang (@nicolecyang) "At the time I was, like, huge into conspiracies," Irving said. "Everybody's been there. ... At the time, you're, like, innocent in it, but you realize the effect of the power of voice. And even if you believe in that, it's, like, just don't come out and say that stuff. That's for intimate conversations because perception, how you're received, it just changes."Like, no, I'm actually a smart-a s individual. It's not like I was just going around saying that. At the time, I just didn't realize the effect. I was definitely at that time like, 'I'm a big conspiracy theorist. You can't tell me anything.'" There was much confusion about Irving's decision to remain unvaccinated before the start of the 2021-22 season because he didn't want to answer questions about his status, which prevented him from playing in home games.Under New York City's COVID guidelines, unvaccinated Knicks and Nets players were not allowed to enter their home arenas for games. The Nets initially didn't let Irving play until he was eligible for all games, but they later allowed him to participate in road games."There's just a lot of questions about what's going on in the world of Kyrie, and I think I'd just love to just keep that private and handle it the right way with my team and go forward together with a plan," . "Obviously I'm not able to be present there today, but that doesn't mean that I'm putting any limits on the future of me being able to join the team."I just want to keep it that way, so please respect it, my privacy." on unvaccinated Jeff Driskel Jersey NBA players' resistance to COVID protocols, Rolling Stone's Matt Sullivan described how Irving had once again fallen down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole:Irving, who serves as a vice president on the executive committee of the players' union, recently started following and Instagram posts from a conspiracy theorist who that "secret societies" are implanting vaccines in a plot to connect Black people to a master computer for "a plan of Satan." This Moderna microchip misinformation campaign has spread acro s multiple NBA locker rooms and group chats, according to several of the dozen-plus current players, Hall-of-Famers, league executives, arena workers and virologists interviewed for this story over the past week.(There are . They also do not alter DNA.) in October 2021 revealing more details behind Irving's stance on the COVID-19 vaccine. Irving was not anti-vaccine or anti-science, multiple sources toldCharania, but rather he was concerned forpeople "losing their jobs due to vaccine mandates.""Kyrie wants to be a voice for the voicele s,"one source told Charania. ( at the time, this is a common refrain among those in anti-vaccine groups online.)Irving then spoke for himself during an Instagram Live se sion that same month, saying he was doing "what's best for me." He told his followers that his decision had nothing Trey Hopkins Jersey to do with the Nets or NBA, and he wasn't part of the pro- or anti-vaccine crowd."I'm standing with all those that believe in what's right and are doing what's right for themselves," Irving said. "Everybody has a personal choice with their lives. Everybody has a right to feel a certain type of way. Everybody's entitled to their own opinions. Everybody's entitled to do what they feel is best for themselves."Irving never reconsidered his stance, but he was able to play in home games beginning in March 2022 afterNew York City mayor Eric Adams changed the vaccine mandate. Following his first outing of the season at the Barclays Center, he said that his choice was all about "freedom.""I don't think that's a word that gets defined enough in our society, about the freedom to make choices with your life without someone telling you what the f to do a