On February 2, the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers shook up the NBA landscape with a blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to Los Angeles and Anthony Davis to Dallas.
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There were a lot of mixed feelings about who won the trade, especially from Mavericks fans. With Luka just beginning to hit his prime, and the Mavericks just one year removed from their first NBA Finals berth in over a decade in 2024, many fans were displeased about the trade.
Some of those fans traveled to the American Airlines Center in Dallas to express their disdain via a protest. Check the video out below.
There is a Luka protest outside American Airlines Center. pic.twitter.com/goslQDDzzl
— Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak) February 2, 2025
There was even a coffin appearance during the protest:
Mavericks fans are in shambles this is crazy
The coffin 😭😭😭 (via @McFarland_Shawn) pic.twitter.com/ZVqjMT4CmG
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 2, 2025
Kyrie: Gambling Is 'Tainting the Game'
There seems to have been an uptick in altercations between players and fans over the years. Some people believe the increase in popularity of online sports gambling could be a big reason why.
It would be one thing if sports gambling was just a harmless addition to the game. But the fact that fans are investing their own money into gambling has made them venomous towards players. A missed free throw or a turnover can cost an individual hundreds or, in some cases, thousands of dollars. Some fans even go as far as to threaten athletes over social media. Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving believes it is "tainting," the game.
"I'm just gonna call it out. Everybody is talking about their f—ing ticket. I'm not gonna say I don't care about your ticket, but if you want to gamble, why don't you gamble on something that makes sense, to you? And if you gamble on me, I'm not going to tell you whether it's a good gamble or bagging, I'm just saying you're gambling. You're gonna win or lose," Irving said.
"But that doesn't mean sliding into people's DMs, wishing bad on them, or doing the extra s— that goes on. It blows my mind sometimes. ... Because as a hooper, I'm just trying to get a bucket. I'm trying to win ballgames most importantly, and I'm gonna be successful some nights and I'm gonna fail but overall, the reason why I said peace of mind is everything. Just look at these distractions that ultimately take away from the game. I'm just saying it's tainting the game."
