Today’s adventure in hilarious interview exchanges comes via whoever asked Kyrie Irving what sort of “parental role” LeBron James plays with him (starting at the 1:04 mark).
Reporter: Kyrie, Tristan [Thompson] called LeBron a great father after the Chicago win...
Irving: What?
Reporter: He did.
Irving: A great fath ... oh a great father? Oh? I interpreted that completely wrong. I thought you said he was a great father to him. I was like “what?”
Reporter. Called him a great father. So what type of parental role has he played for you and your teammates?
Irving: Oh ok, so you...
Different Reporter: You were right the first time.
Irving: Yeah yeah. Parental role? Honestly ... [laughs] ... I don’t know how to really answer that question. He has been a great leader for us. I have one father. That’s my dad Drederick Irving. But for us, in terms of learning the nuances of the game, and also how to win, and how to carry ourselves off the court, I feel he has been a great influence in that role.
Asking interview questions in the scrum isn’t as easy as it looks, but c’mon. Kyrie Irving is a grown-ass man that was raised by another grown-ass man, Drederick Irving, his father. Drederick raised Kyrie as an only parent, after Kyrie’s mother died when he was four. Furthermore, Irving isn’t a rookie or end of the bench player. He is a three-time All-Star that has played for the Cavs for the past four years, three years longer than LeBron James.
Questions like these are what pushes one around to Marshawn Lynch and Russell Westbrook’s point of view on the media/player relationship. Irving, to his credit, answers the question that the reporter should have asked—in what ways has LeBron James been a leader this season?—after spending a few seconds laughing at the idea of LeBron being his father.
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