Jaylen Brown on Monday further explained a tweet he posted in support of Kyrie Irving’s return that included a video of a group of Black Hebrew Israelites spewing harmful propaganda, saying he wasn’t aware of the group’s identity.
Irving returned for the Nets on Sunday after an eight-game suspension stemming from when he posted a link to an antisemitic movie on Twitter. Outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, a large contingent from the group Israel United in Christ – which has been identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center – lined up outside the arena in support of Irving’s return.
Brown quote-tweeted a video of the supporters, writing, “Energy,” but later clarified himself after learning what the group represents.
“I was not aware of what specific group that was outside of Barclay’s Center tonight. I was celebrating the unification of our people welcoming the return of Kyrie to the court, first glance I thought it was a known fraternity the (C/Que’s) Omega psi phi (step’n) showing support,” Brown tweeted on Sunday.
Brown, who has been an active supporter of Irving during his suspension, expanded on his thoughts of the situation while talking to reporters in Chicago before the Celtics played the Bulls on Monday.
“I didn’t have my reading glasses on,” Brown told reporters. “I didn’t know who that group was. But my instincts when I first saw that video was that I come from a community torn every day by systemic representations and imagery of violence in our community, so when I saw that video, it struck a chord for different reasons. …
“I saw a large group of people from our community showing support for (Irving) and his return. So me being proud of that support and being proud of our community for doing that does not mean I endorse or celebrate some of the things that were being done or being said.”
“My instincts when I saw that was I didn’t notice which group it was,” Brown continued. “I just noticed the support, and that’s what I commented on and I reemphasized. I don’t think that everything that’s being said or being done is something that I endorse or represent.”
As of Monday night, Brown’s initial tweet was still up and he said he doesn’t plan to delete it.
“Removing the tweet would be removing my support for him and his return,” Brown told reporters. “That was what my agenda was when I tweeted it. I think anybody trying to discontort or misconstrue what my support was has a separate agenda at hand. That’s now what I was trying to do at all.”
