Update, November 3, 2022 9:00 pm ET: The Brooklyn Nets have suspended Kyrie Irving without pay for no less than five games.
In a statement released Thursday evening, the club said it was “dismayed” that Irving refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs and that the point guard was “unfit” to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.
Additionally, the Anti-Defamation League is refusing Irving’s $500,000 donation and feels Irving “feels no accountability” for his actions.
Original, November 3, 2022 4:49 pm ET: Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving continues to let people down by defending the promotion of antisemitic movies and books.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he is disappointed Irving has not offered “an unqualified apology” or yet “denounced the vile and harmful content” in the antisemitic film that the Brooklyn guard tweeted.
But that feels as likely as the Nets winning the championship this season — it’s not happening.
Silver, though, is not alone in this desire. As noted by ESPN’s Nick Friedell, “many around the league” and “within the Nets organization” were hoping to hear Irving apologize and/or state that he does not hold antisemitic beliefs.
Many around the league and within the Nets organization were hoping that Kyrie would say at least these two things today:
1. “I’m sorry.”
2. “I don’t have anti-Semitic beliefs.”That did not happen.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) November 3, 2022
Irving said he would donate $500,000 to unspecified “causes and organizations” that work to eradicate hate.
He said that he didn’t mean to cause any harm. He also tweeted that the antisemitic label being pushed on him is not justified. It would be nice to believe him.
When he was directly asked if he holds any antisemitic beliefs, the answer should have been easy. Irving could have just said no. He could have plainly stated that he does not hold any bias against the Jewish people. For whatever reason, however, that is not what he said.
Instead, however, he had another frustrating response that left many unsatisfied. This is what Irving said:
Reporter: “Do you have any antisemitic beliefs?”
Irving: “Again, I’m going to repeat. I don’t know how the label becomes justified because you guys ask me the same questions over and over again, but this is not going to turn into a spin around cycle of questions upon questions. I told you guys how I felt. I respect all walks of life and embrace all walks of life. That’s where I sit.”
Reporter: “I think what people want to hear though is just a yes or no on that question.”
Irving: “I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from…. I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.”
Irving was specifically asked if he could answer that as a yes or no, and he did not. Instead, he claimed he is not capable of being antisemitic due to his lineage and the etymology of the word Semite.
As noted by Drew Magary, however, that line of thinking is one of the central themes of this controversial film. You can read more about that via SF Gate:
“This is a fundamentally antisemitic work built around the belief that Black people are the original Hebrews, and that present-day Jews have stolen their identity and used it to run the world. This is a bedrock principle within certain elements of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement; it’s been extensively debunked and is indisputably hateful, no matter how childish a guise it may come in.”
There are lots of other issues with Irving posting a link to that film.
USA Today’s Dan Wolken shared an insightful breakdown of why Irving’s actions were so harmful and where they stem from.
During his latest conversation with the press, Irving recognized that the film “may have had some unfortunate falsehoods” at “some points” throughout. That includes the denial of the Holocaust. He described that falsehood as “unfortunate” and that he has never said he doesn’t believe in the Holocaust.
The NBA on TNT crew did not hold back.https://t.co/EJgldKSzAu
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) November 2, 2022
Even though the players aren’t doing anything to condemn Irving’s actions, many people (including Charles Barkley), are calling for Irving’s suspension.
Six-time NBA All-Star Amare Stoudemire, who previously believed in the Black Hebrew Israelite movement but converted to Judaism in 2020, was an assistant coach for Irving on the Nets. He just wants Irving to apologize.
Both recently and throughout his career, however, Irving has made it clear that he is “not going to stand down” about anything that he believes in.
From my limited interaction with Irving, I don’t know with certainty whether or not Irving is actually antisemitic. I’d like to believe that he isn’t, although the fact Irving reportedly sent his father and his stepmother to represent him during a meeting with the ADL wasn’t a particularly great look.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted his thoughts on Irving’s latest media address:
“The answer to the question “Do you have any antisemitic beliefs” is always “NO” without equivocation. We took Kyrie Irving at his word when he said he took responsibility, but today he did not make good on that promise. Kyrie clearly has a lot of work to do.”
I’m not sure what happens next with this ugly situation. But if Irving refuses to flatly say he’s not antisemitic, he’s already told us everything we need to know.
