Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets: Why Irving Shouldn’t Have Be Suspended During a Basketball Classic? (Late Version)
Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets announced on Wednesday that they will both donate $500,000 towards anti-hate organizations after the point guard tweeted a documentary deemed to be antisemitic last week.
“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,” Irving wrote. “I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, 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 take responsibility for the negative impact of my post on the Jewish community. The documentary does not reflect my morals or principles and I do not believe that it was true.
I intend to use my open mind and willingness to listen to what I am learning from all the different walks of life. We wanted to be a beacon of truth and light, and didn’t want any race, religion or group of people to be harmed.
The Basketball Hall of Fame member said earlier this week that he thought the league dropped the ball on Irving and that he should have been suspended.
On Tuesday, when asked why Irving had not been disciplined for his actions, Nets general manager Sean Marks told reporters: “I think we are having these discussions behind the scenes.
Kyrie Irving’s apology to the Brooklyn Nets for his tweet anti-antisemitic tweet: “I’m sorry I couldn’t do that”
The statement said that the effort is to develop educational programming that is inclusive and will fight all forms of bigotry.
At a time when antisemitism is reaching historic levels, the Anti-Defamation League knows how to confront it head-on and change hearts and minds.
After being criticized for making antisemitic comments on social media and in interviews, rapper West showed his support for Irving by posting a picture of the guard on Thursday.
Last Friday, he told paparazzi that his mental health issues had been misdiagnosed by a Jewish doctor, made reference to Jewish ownership of media and compared Planned Parenthood to the Holocaust.
Kyrie Irving will miss the first of several Brooklyn Nets games Friday after he was suspended for comments regarding his tweet linking to an antisemitic documentary.
I did not want to disrespect 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,” Irving continued.
The Nets said they were dismayed when the player wouldn’t say he doesn’t have antisemitic beliefs or acknowledge any hate material in the film.
Asked if he was surprised by the reaction, Irving said, “I take my full responsibility, again I’ll repeat it, for posting something on my Instagram or Twitter that may have had some unfortunate falsehoods in it,” Irving replied.
He was pressed further to say no if he wanted to know if Irving had any antisemitic beliefs.
When Jonathan Greenblatt found out about how the NBA star answered the question, he said that Irving has a lot of work to do.
The ADL wouldn’t accept the donation that Irving and the Nets had previously announced after he was suspended. The ADL turned down the donation before Irving apologized.
Antisemitism in the U.S. has risen since 2015, according to the anti-de Sitter data released by the ADL
The controversy comes as antisemitism has been on the rise in the US over the past few years. According to the ADL, there were 2,717 antisemitic incidents reported in the US in 2016 versus 962 in 2015.