Nets guard Kyrie Irving has met with the team, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association “on several occasions” in recent days, as he serves a team suspension after sharing a link to an antisemitic film and his refusal to apologize for it for days after the fact. As a result of the talks, the union “looks forward to a resolution of all matters satisfactory to all parties,” the NBPA told players in a memo obtained by ESPN on Friday.
The memo went on to say that “Kyrie’s rights and the rights of all future players have been protected at every turn.” The memo also reportedly reiterated that Irving and the union “unequivocally condemn antisemitism and all other forms of hate …,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Even with the memo suggesting that the union is anticipating a solution to the Irving situation, Wojnarowski reports that there remains skepticism regarding a potential return on Sunday against the Lakers or Tuesday against the Kings.
Irving has been suspended by the Nets for “at least five games” and was given a list of items by the franchise that he needed to satisfy in order to return to the court. Irving eventually apologized for sharing the film hours after the suspension was handed down.
On Friday afternoon, Nets owner Joe Tsai said that he and his wife, Clara, met with Irving and his family Thursday. “We spent quality time to understand each other and it’s clear to me that Kyrie does not have any beliefs of hate towards Jewish people or any group,” he wrote on Twitter.
Celtics star and NBPA vice president Jaylen Brown told reporters earlier this week that an appeal was likely to be filed because “a lot of players were uncomfortable with the terms” handed down by the Nets to Irving for him to return to play.
Irving met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday regarding the matter, and Silver told reporters on Thursday that he had “no doubt” that Irving was not antisemitic.
