Following Kyrie Irving’s suspension from the Brooklyn Nets, teammate Kevin Durant lamented the attention it received and the distractions it had brought about. The Nets officially suspended Irving for at least five games after he refused to apologize for promoting a movie on his Twitter. It’s difficult for the unwavering Durant, who’s focused on playing, to determine whether he believed the punishment was caused by Irving’s behavior or the media’s intense scrutiny. However, he appeared exhausted on Friday from the entire media circus.

Durant stated, “​​It’s an unfortunate situation for people that are impacted by this situation. It just sucks all around for everybody. Hopefully we can move past it.” He added, “That’s just the way of the NBA now. Media, so many outlets now and their stories hit pretty fast now. That’s where all the chaos is coming from, from everybody’s opinions. Everybody has an opinion on this situation and we’re hearing it nonstop.”

He noted, “But once the balls start bouncing and we get into practice none of that stuff seeps into the gym. So that’s the cool part about being in the league. But once you step off the court, everyone got the microphones out and the microscopes looking at you asking you what you feel about it. That’s been difficult. But the game is the constant for us.” 

Additionally, Durant explained on Twitter, “Just wanna clarify the statements I made at shootaround, I see some people are confused. I don’t condone hate speech or anti-semetism [sic], I’m about spreading love always. Our game Unites people and I wanna make sure that’s at the forefront.”