Just when the furor over star Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving seemed to be dying down after the mercurial floor general became poised to return to the court after having satisfied his team that he took accountability for his actions which promoted an antisemitic film, Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown appears to have picked up that problematic baton.
The Georgia native retweeted a clip on Sunday afternoon which was originally shared by Twitter user @PlainJaneDee_ that showed a large crowd of Black Hebrew Israelites, a number of which were distributing propaganda flyers for the Radical Hebrew Israelite sect, who are characterized as a hate group by the SPLC.
The clip was also retweeted by Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas, since deleted.
Nearly all good news, at that. https://t.co/KZ68XjRS2o
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 21, 2022
After a few hours of Brown’s quote tweet being up and several articles were written about it, the Celtics star posted a response to his apparent support for the Black Hebrew Israelites.
“I was not aware of what specific group that was outside of Barclay’s Center tonight,” wrote Brown.
“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.”
Former Celtics All-Star Isaiah Thomas is reportedly joining the broadcast team for one of basketball’s newest leagues. https://t.co/sIcywhcrBf
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 20, 2022
Brown’s explanation may be enough to put some distance between the politics of the group he retweeted for some, but for others, such incautious use of his platform raises uncomfortable questions.
Uncomfortable questions about whether Brown actually shares more in common with such groups than he publicly admits that will only linger or grow louder with posts such as the Marietta native made this weekend.
When it comes to “big threes” in the NBA, the Boston Celtics helped create the idea. https://t.co/1KB1ZFcWPT
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 20, 2022
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