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Hate is something almost every sports person has received. It is near impossible to not trigger some fans while playing in front of the millions of eyes focused on the athlete. The latest star to get in the news for this issue is Kyrie Irving.

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During the first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics, the Brooklyn Nets star responded to the hate from the crowd. He reacted with a flick of the finger that has caused major headlines around the world.

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An athlete who knows all about getting hate is Shaquille O’Neal. The 4 time NBA champion has talked about the crowd going hostile against him in multiple instances.

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Talking on The Big Podcast with Shaq, he revealed one of the worst crowds he has ever faced. He recalled being called a ‘gorilla’ by the crowd during one of his college games. However, he also revealed how he found it funny and dealt with it.

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Shaquille O’Neal shares his story after the Kyrie Irving incident

The NBA playoffs mean intense matches and hostile crowds. It was the same for the Brooklyn Nets when they faced the Boston Celtics in the iconic TD Garden.

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Safe to say, the crowd was in no mood to entertain the former Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving. The crowd booed him all game, and it triggered a response from him during the match and in the press conference.

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Talking about the incident, Kyrie said, “I don’t want to attack every Boston fan, but when people start yelling p—y, b—h and f–k you and all that, there is only so much you can take as a competitor.”

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This has caused major headlines across the world with fans and analysts giving their opinions. One of them is the 4 time NBA champion, Shaquille O’Neal.

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Bringing up this issue in The Big Podcast with Shaq, he recalled a similar incident during his college days. Apparently, during a college game, the crowd called him a gorilla.

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Shaq said, “One time I was playing against them and Chris Jackson took the faster shot. Who’s your dad? Who’s your dad? When I go and win means Danny Robbins go to the free-throw line.

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He added, “One side would go, McGilla, the other side would go gorilla and the whole crowd would go ‘Ooh Ooh’. I mean, I thought it was funny but now don’t worry about that.”

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After the Kyrie Irving incident, the league fined him a whopping $50,000 for his behavior during the match. Currently, the Celtics lead the 7-game series 2-0.

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Written by

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Abhinava Ghosh

1,823 Articles

Abhinava Ghosh is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports with a wealth of experience covering the league. He has written over 1400 articles for EssentiallySports, showcasing his expertise in analyzing and reporting on NBA trade rumors, injury updates, and the ever-changing dynamics of the league. He had successfully covered the entire Kevin Durant trade saga at Brooklyn, which led to the basketball legend’s move to the Desert. He also kept our readers updated on the Brittney Griner situation throughout her exile in Russia. One of Abhinava's proudest moments came in 2015 when the Golden State Warriors won the NBA title after 40 years. As a lifelong fan of the Dubs, Abhinava was thrilled to see his team reach the pinnacle of the sport, but he remained objective and professional in his reporting.

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Ajinkya Aswale

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