Dear Kyrie,

You are right. This is a job. For players, it is just a professional job. You leave cities to go to new ones, go where the best money is, I get it. But, to fans, this is more than just entertainment.

Going to a basketball game could be the best night of someone’s year. Saving up for weeks to finally be able to get off work for one night, relax, and see their favorite team in the city. A professional player could be the reason somebody never gave up on playing basketball. Counting down the hours to the game that night, could be the only thing keeping a person going.

Or, you could be like me. I fell in love with sports because of the Boston Celtics. I found my favorite city in the world because of the Boston Celtics. And, I found a fandom where I can be truly and utterly myself, plus feel welcomed and loved because of the Boston Celtics. I wouldn’t be here today without the Boston Celtics.

Fans always expect a good game and a win.

But, this is Boston. This is the most intimidating and passionate fan base in the world. This is the same city that has had 11 championships since 2001 brought back to the city. This is the same city that gets owners fired while still being the reigning champions. This is the same city where fans will travel thousands of miles to a regular season game, and make it feel like a playoff game in Foxborough.

None of this is new. Boston fans have a history of this. Players know all about these fans before they get here. They expect your best and nothing less.

You did not deserve to get boo’ed. You did not deserve to be called names, and you did not deserve for this to hurt your mental health. However, with your history in Boston, everything seemed intentional. If you want us to look at it from your perspective, you have to also understand it from ours.

We had high expectations. This team made it one game away from the NBA Finals without you. Adding in your skills and talent to the mix the following year, we knew we would be the favorites to win it all. For whatever reason, that hope faded fast and we were left with a mediocre season and so much wasted talent. After that, instead of trying to fix things, you just left. You didn’t help try to be a leader, you didn’t take any responsibility, you just fled. A very weird-timed injury made you miss the first game back in Boston, and now you post a lengthy story, trying to make the fan base you abandoned seem like the bad guys.

Honestly, I hope you get better. I hope Brooklyn is where you feel at home, and I hope you excel in the rest of your career. I hope this bad blood ends, and we can be respectful to each other. This is just a mess that never got closure.

“This game isn’t meant to be controlled and shown as a drama, it is meant to show the love.” That is all we were doing, showing love and support for our team. The team that means more to us than you will ever know.

Sincerely,

A Boston Sports Fan