After an 11-day, seven-game absence for personal reasons, Kyrie Irving returned Tuesday to the Brooklyn Nets. In comments to reporters, the all-star guard apologized to fans and declared himself “happy to be back” after a “pause” he said he needed.

“There are so many oppressed communities, so many things going on that are just bigger than a ball going in the rim,” he asserted.

The 28-year-old former Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics star, in his second season with the Nets, portrayed himself as having struggled to find a satisfying balance between his professional life as a basketball player and his personal desire to help others in need. He also said he had “a lot of family and personal” issues to deal with, declining to elaborate.