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No NBA star creates headlines quite like Kyrie Irving. He isn't always in the news, but when he is, there's usually some pretty unique and often amusing subject matter. This time, the eyebrow-raiser he's generated is a lawsuit, heading his way courtesy of health and wellness company Elite Mind Solutions after he allegedly hired them for a major event and failed to pay for their services.
According to the plaintiffs, Irving hired the company, including therapist Natasha McCartney, a broadly known entity in the field, for a family and friends retreat back in the spring of this year. Apparently, Irving stated that around 50-60 guests would be there when he engaged the company for their services, updated that number to 115 a few days before the event itself, and in the end, around 150 individuals showed up on the big day.
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The suit claims that the company still held up their end of the deal, but Irving never paid the invoices the company sent his way. He's being sued now for breach of contract, as per his failure to pay, with the plaintiffs looking for not only the money he owed them, but interest and attorneys' fees as well.
Kyrie Irving Sued After Allegedly Stiffing Health & Wellness Co. Out Of $390K | Click to read more ? https://t.co/5IAW4tf7xh
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) December 2, 2024
Irving is owed $41 million in salary this year, bringing his career earnings above $300 million. Suffice it to say that he should have no problem paying a tab of under half a million dollars, but apparently, this has become something of a sticking point. It's not entirely clear why he failed to pay the money in the first place, or why he wouldn't be happy to simply settle out of court, rather than engage in a potentially lengthy and expensive legal battle, so we'll have to wait and see if the two sides are able to reach such a resolution.
Of course, plenty of athletes have made big money and still found themselves in challenging financial situations. That could be the case for Irving, but we haven't heard any such reports as of yet. Even so, that's a story more commonly attached to retired athletes, as those with active contracts like Irving's are almost always fine in the short term.
Irving's play does not appear to be impacted by any potential mental toll of these courtroom proceedings. He's averaging a very solid 24.8 points per game while shooting an absurd 46.6% from three-point range on 6.9 attempted shots from long range per game.
The Mavericks, who surprised many as they won the Western Conference last year, are currently in fifth place in the conference standings, the same place in which they finished last year ahead of that postseason run. We'll see if Irving can whip up some more postseason magic, but first, he may need to figure out how to resolve this odd off-court dispute.