Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has found himself at the center of another controversy after he shared a link to a documentary that espouses antisemitic views.
The NBA star made headlines after he tweeted a link to the movie Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America on October 27 without comment. The film, based on a 2015 book of the same title, and contains many hateful and false claims about Jewish people, including that the Holocaust did not happen.
Nets owner Joe Tsai slammed the athlete in a tweet on October 28, writing: “I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of antisemitic disinformation. I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion. This is bigger than basketball.”
The NBA, however, did not take any formal action at the time. On October 29, Irving defended his initial post, describing himself as an “omnist,” which is defined as someone who believes in and respects all religions. “I am an OMNIST and I meant no disrespect to anyone’s religious beliefs,” he tweeted. “The ‘antisemitic’ label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday. I embrace and want to learn from all walks of life and religions.”
Later that day, the former Cleveland Cavaliers player claimed that his first tweet about the film did not mean that he was promoting it. “Can you please stop calling it a promotion?” he said during a postgame press conference. “I can post whatever I want.”
Irving deleted the movie tweet on October 30, and he was initially allowed to continue playing with the Nets. During a November 1 TNT broadcast, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Reggie Miller slammed the NBA for not reacting. “I think the NBA dropped the ball,” Barkley said. “I think he should have been suspended. I think [NBA commissioner] Adam [Silver] should have suspended him. … When you’re somebody as great at basketball like him, people are gonna listen to what you say.”
Two days later, the NBA finally suspended Irving for at least five games without pay, but the ESPY Award winner did not apologize until four hours after the disciplinary measures were announced.
“We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity — but failed — to clarify,” the Nets said in a statement. “Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know about Irving’s suspension.
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NBA’s Kyrie Irving Apologizes for Antisemitic Post After Brooklyn Nets Issue Suspension: Everything to Know
Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has found himself at the center of another controversy after he shared a link to a documentary that espouses antisemitic views.
The NBA star made headlines after he tweeted a link to the movie Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America on October 27 without comment. The film, based on a 2015 book of the same title, and contains many hateful and false claims about Jewish people, including that the Holocaust did not happen.
Nets owner Joe Tsai slammed the athlete in a tweet on October 28, writing: “I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of antisemitic disinformation. I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion. This is bigger than basketball.”
The NBA, however, did not take any formal action at the time. On October 29, Irving defended his initial post, describing himself as an “omnist,” which is defined as someone who believes in and respects all religions. “I am an OMNIST and I meant no disrespect to anyone’s religious beliefs,” he tweeted. “The ‘antisemitic’ label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday. I embrace and want to learn from all walks of life and religions.”
Later that day, the former Cleveland Cavaliers player claimed that his first tweet about the film did not mean that he was promoting it. “Can you please stop calling it a promotion?” he said during a postgame press conference. “I can post whatever I want.”
Irving deleted the movie tweet on October 30, and he was initially allowed to continue playing with the Nets. During a November 1 TNT broadcast, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Reggie Miller slammed the NBA for not reacting. “I think the NBA dropped the ball,” Barkley said. “I think he should have been suspended. I think [NBA commissioner] Adam [Silver] should have suspended him. … When you’re somebody as great at basketball like him, people are gonna listen to what you say.”
Two days later, the NBA finally suspended Irving for at least five games without pay, but the ESPY Award winner did not apologize until four hours after the disciplinary measures were announced.
“We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity — but failed — to clarify,” the Nets said in a statement. “Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know about Irving’s suspension.
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What Did Kyrie Irving Post?
On October 27, Irving shared a link to a documentary that has been widely discredited as antisemitic. The film includes quotes attributed to Adolf Hitler and falsely claims that the Holocaust did not happen. After deleting the tweet, the Olympic gold medalist initially refused to apologize, saying that he did not agree with everything in the movie and calling the film’s Holocaust denial “unfortunate.”
When asked during a November 3 press conference if he holds antisemitic beliefs, he said, “I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.”
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How Did the NBA Respond?
The league issued a statement on October 29 condemning antisemitism without mentioning Irving by name. “Hate speech of any kind is unacceptable and runs counter to the NBA’s values of equality, inclusion and respect,” the statement read. “We believe we all have a role to play in ensuring such words or ideas, including antisemitic ones, are challenged and refuted and we will continue working with all members of the NBA community to ensure that everyone understands the impact of their words and actions.”
On October 31, Nets head coach Steve Nash said he hopes that “we all grow through this together.” Less than two days later, he was fired.
The Nets announced on November 2 that the team and Irving would donate $500,000 each “toward causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities” and will be working with the Anti-Defamation League to “develop education programming” to “combat all forms of antisemitism and bigotry.” Irving later revealed that he never met with the ADL. After the press conference where he wouldn’t unequivocally answer whether he holds antisemitic beliefs, the ADL said the organization would no longer accept his donation.
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How Long Is Kyrie Suspended?
The Nets announced Irving’s suspension on November 3. “Over the last several days, we have made repeated attempts to work with Kyrie Irving to help him understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate,” the team said in a statement. “We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct and the suspension period served is no less than five games.”
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Did He Apologize?
Hours before the suspension was announced on November 3, Silver said he was disappointed that Irving had not “offered an unqualified apology” for his actions. “I will be meeting with Kyrie in person in the next week to discuss this situation,” the commissioner added.
Later that day, Irving shared an apology via Instagram after the Nets announced his suspension. “To all Jewish families and communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize,” he wrote. “I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled antisemitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish brothers and sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the documentary. I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against antisemitism by apologizing for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the documentary I agreed with and disagreed with. I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate. I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all.”
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How Is Kanye West Involved?
The rapper, who was recently fired from Adidas after sharing antisemitic remarks via social media, seemingly expressed support for Irving. On October 31, he posted a photo of Irving via Instagram, writing: “There’s some real ones still here.” After the Nets announced Irving’s suspension, West shared a screenshot of the press release via Twitter, adding the comment: “This [is] not hate.”
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Has Kyrie Irving Lost Brand Deals?
Following Irving’s social media controversy, Nike announced on November 4 that they have suspended their relationship with the Nets player.
“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” the athletic brand said in a statement to ESPN, noting they have scrapped plans to release the Kyrie 8 shoe later that month. “We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
On December 5, Nike announced they officially terminated their brand deal with the point guard. “Kyrie is no longer a Nike athlete,” a Nike company spokesperson told ESPN at the time.
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When Will Kyrie Irving Return to the NBA?
The Brooklyn Nets guard ended his eight game suspension and returned to play against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, November 20. The NBA star spoke to the press before the game to apologize for his comments.
“I don’t stand for anything close to hate speech, or anti-Semitism, or anything that is anti going against the human race,” Irving said at the time. “I feel like we all should have an opportunity to speak for ourselves when things are assumed about us. And I feel it was necessary for me to stand in this place and take accountability for my actions because there was a way I should have handled all of this.”
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