Kyrie Irving has taken a polarizing stand on the NBA’s upcoming return, as he and others are aggressively pushing to cancel the season amid the racial tension in America. So as expected, with it are varying reactions from players and fans.

After getting support from guys like Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and Avery Bradley, now comes a wave from the other side. Let’s have a rundown on the three recent comments from past and present players.

NBA Hall-of-Famer and beloved TNT broadcaster Charles Barkley is the most influential figure among the three. Barkley was on ESPN’s morning show, Get Up, this week and addressed the situation:

“I think it would be stupid to not play … For two reasons: No. 1, if they don’t play, they’re going to be out of sight, out of mind for the rest of the year. There won’t be any cameras following.”

“These guys have got to realize this money ain’t gonna come back and they’re gonna lose billions of dollars that the players can use to go into their own communities and do some great stuff.”

Next is the outspoken, retired NBA veteran Kendrick Perkins. Perk, as you know, was a longtime Boston Celtic, so his love for the Celtics are deep, which means he has a certain dislike on Irving, who left Boston after two disappointing seasons. They were teammates while with the Cleveland Cavaliers and got along fine, but as mentioned, Perk bleeds green.

Here’s what he said in a recent guesting on CBS Sports Radio’s The DA Show:

“He’s not a powerful voice; he’s a popular voice,”

“All he’s doing is causing unnecessary drama between the NBA brothers that we don’t need right now. Him lashing out is just making news and making a whole bunch of noise for nothing because the NBA season is going to happen. LeBron James wants to play. Chris Paul wants to play. Russell Westbrook wants to play. Anthony Davis, Giannis – when they first voted for the NBA to come back, the vote was 28-0. Everybody wants to play.”

Then, there’s current Utah Jazz center Ed Davis, who questioned the honesty of Dwight Howard and Irving’s statements, particularly the latter’s declaration about “giving up everything” to make a change. Davis’s point-of-view is interesting as he is a career journeyman who has always fought to survive roster cuts to keep getting paychecks, unlike Howard and Irving.

Davis called out the two stars during an interview with HoopsHype:

“It’s easy for a guy like Kyrie [Irving] to say that he’ll give everything back [for social reform], but would he really give everything back? It’s easy for Dwight Howard to say that we don’t need to play when he’s in Atlanta in his $20 million mansion … There are other guys on the rosters who need this money to provide for whoever they’re taking care of and things like that.

It’s so easy for the superstars to say, “Let’s just not play,” and they’re good. But some guys can’t just do that. There are lives on the line and, like I said, generational wealth on the line. These are the hits that we’re going to take if we don’t play.”

Irving has done a good job of being a voice for NBA players who may be reluctant to speak out. Through his fiery comments, he has put the heavy pressure upon guys to explain why they are in favour of continuing the season despite all the sensitive issues that America is facing.

What’s intriguing is the response we’ve listed above. Barkley, Perkins, and Davis have thrown the ball back to Irving, who now has to elaborate more on his stance.