National Basketball Association

Kyrie Irving claims the Earth is actually flat, and Draymond Green responds

Published Feb. 18, 2017 2:49 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

There's a lot to unpack here, and every bit is enough to make your head spin.

It all started on Friday, when Reddit pointed out Kyrie Irving believes the Earth is flat. You know, as one does.

That claim comes courtesy of an appearance from Irving on Channing Frye's and Richard Jefferson's podcast, because apparently Jefferson is trying to conquer all media. During their discussion, Irving earnestly, incorrectly, and bafflingly states the Earth is not a sphere (via ESPN.com):

"This is not even a conspiracy theory," Irving said. "The Earth is flat. The Earth is flat.

"It's right in front of our faces. I'm telling you, it's right in front of our faces. They lie to us."

"I think people should do their own research, man," Irving told ESPN. "Hopefully they'll either back my belief or they'll throw it in the water. But I think it's interesting for people to find out on their own.

"I've seen a lot of things that my educational system has said that was real that turned out to be completely fake. I don't mind going against the grain in terms of my thoughts."

Then there's Draymond Green, who decided to keep this conversation going with his answer at All-Star practice on Saturday. Surely we could trust Green to turn this into a Cavs/Warriors thing and poke at Irving's (apparent and supposed) ignorance — except he didn't take the bait for trash talk, instead supporting Irving's right to his opinion:

https://twitter.com/TheCrossover/status/833014995583643649

UPDATE (Feb. 18, 2:50 PM ET): Irving was asked about his stance yet again on Saturday, and he gave a non-answer about the state of the news media which might indicate he was trolling in the first place — or might not. I'm not sure anymore.

https://twitter.com/Rachel__Nichols/status/833038757410512898

I tap out. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go use a children's toy to prove the Earth is round:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPsLanVS1Q8

I hate 2017. Please stress the importance of education.