Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has bestowed a special gift to several students at Lincoln University in eastern Pennsylvania.
As part of Irving’s foundation’s 11 Days of Giving, on Dec. 10 he apparently paid the remaining tuition of nine seniors from the HBCU, presenting a check for $36,000 to the grateful group during a videoconference ceremony.
Twitter response to Irving’s actions was generally positive despite the fact that Irving can be a polarizing figure. However, he appeared to garner some goodwill because of his good deed.
“He’s a great guy,” one user wrote. “Still deserves to get criticized when he says and does dumb s–t, doing this, and stuff like this doesn’t make him above criticism.”
“With that said, what a generous move. He made life a whole lot easier for those kids. What a wonderful gesture.”
Another said, “Kyrie always winning. Keep in mind that was 20 days ago and the media didn’t find out until today. He’s a good guy who’s misunderstood.”
One user posted, “We need to see more of these stories about him since every always focuses on the negative. Not a fan of his, but these charitable events are changing my mind.”
An additional person tweeted some additional details about Irving’s 11 Days of Giving, including the fact that the NBA star, donated soil to Greater Newark Conservancy in Newark, New Jersey, and distributed presents to both 80 children in the Bronx, New York, and 100 kids in the New York borough of Queens.
This is not the first time Irving has contributed large sums of money for the tuition of a complete stranger. In 2017, he offered to pay the $11,000 tuition of a student who attended Irving’s former high school, The Patrick School, according to Complex.
The student, 12-year-old Spencer Joyner, had recently been diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri, a condition which can cause moderate to severe headaches and short bouts of blindness. It was difficult for Joyner to walk and he was not able to attend The Patrick School due to his illness. Irving was informed of Joyner’s condition, and he proposed to pay his tuition cost.
“It’s very important, especially if you have the means to do it,” Irving said, according to Zagsblog. “I’m just thankful that I have a great support system and great financial team that allows [me] to give back to our community and support those kids, not only just the athletes but the students that we have at the school.”
