Sports fans tend to take things too far. We all do. We take sport seriously, and don't really care if it's beyond reason at times. Yes, you look a little foolish in retrospect with some of your behaviour and comments, but that's being a sports fan, a part of the charm of it all.
But there's silly behaviour, and then there's downright scandalous behaviour, and that's what some Boston Celtics fans were guilty of yesterday.
Late Tuesday night, news broke of what can be described a monster NBA trade. Kyrie Irving, the number two man on LeBron James's Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to make his name as the superstar of a team. He was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas.
Irving is definitely a potential superstar for the Celtics, who lost to the Cavs in the Eastern Finals this year, and at 25, is just entering his prime. That said, the trade has divided opinion with the Celtics paying a huge price in Crowder and especially Thomas.
Thomas, who at 5'9" cuts a curious figure in the NBA of giants, was only at the Celtics for two and a half years, but became a cult figure in Boston in that time.
Last season, he broke all kinds of records and led the team through an incredible run that brought them to the Eastern Finals, and became even more of a hero in the city when, the day after his sister Chyna died in car accident, he went out and scored 33 points for the Celtics in a playoff game against the Chicago Bulls.
After that game, his coach Brad Stevens spoke glowingly about the player:
I couldn’t help but be inspired by his play.
He was incredible. He’s an amazing, amazing player, amazing person, and days won’t get easier for him. But he somehow plays like that.
He’s really hurting.
Soon after the trade was announced, videos similar to this started to spread around social media.
Not my Point Guard pic.twitter.com/TVTI1Qu0aD
— Kyle Gordon (@kylegordon28) August 23, 2017
Other, similar videos have since been deleted, with the "fans" perhaps reacting to the outrage among Celtics fans at the outrageous behaviour.
How can people burn an Isiah Thomas jersey, one the guy got traded and two he played in a game the day after his sister passes away 🤦🏻♂️
— Troy Starkey (@7Tstarkey) August 23, 2017
Why did people burn an Isaiah Thomas jersey? He didn't demand a trade. He had no option. I hate stupid fans....
— Seattle M-Aaron-er (@tekneak34) August 24, 2017
Why would you burn Isaiah Thomas' jersey? He was the ultimate professional. The guy played in the playoffs the day after his sister died
— Imman Canicosa (@imman_cipate) August 24, 2017
It's worth noting that, with the way NBA trades work, Thomas likely had no say in whether he would stay or go from Boston.
