This was a conference call with friends, peers, and colleagues. It wasn't a formal meeting. I certainly know that I don't always expresses myself in "ready for press" soundbites when I'm talking with my friends and peers. This wasn't like Dwight Howard's official statement, which was written with the expectation that it would be printed/broadcast. Kyrie was making impassioned, off the cuff remarks that weren't made with the expectation that they were going to be sum total of his thoughts on the matter.

In this case, I think we can taking meaning from the general sentiments that he expressed (we shouldn't play, it will take attention away from the BLM and anti-police brutality protests) rather than closely scrutinizing every word here.