*Several NBA executives as well as current and former players are speaking out in defense of Nets player Kyrie Irving amid accusations that he is antisemitic.
As we reported previously, Irving has been temporarily suspended from the Brooklyn Nets for sharing a link to a documentary that explores the history of Black Hebrews. Members of the Jewish community said they are so “hurt” by it that the NBA star was forced to apologize and urged to give money to Jewish causes.
Irving was issued a five-game suspension for posting the link to the documentary “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.” The film is based on a book of the same name by Ronald Dalton Jr. According to multiple reports, as part of his punishment, Kyrie must condemn the film, donate $500,000 donation to anti-hate causes and participate in sensitivity training.
It’s been two weeks since the Brooklyn Nets guard was slaughtered in the media over the documentary, which many have deemed as antisemitic. Irving has not condemned the film but he has denied being a Jew hater.
READ MORE: Shannon Sharpe Unpacks the Anti-Black Outrage Aimed at Kyrie Irving | Video
This is all that @KyrieIrving was trying to say. pic.twitter.com/cYpJSa9zrx
— Bolok (@Bolok_Oxlahun) November 15, 2022
LeBron James and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who is Jewish, are among those who have publicly come to Irving’s defense
“I don’t believe Kyrie Irving is antisemitic. I don’t think people in our governing bodies think he’s antisemitic. He made a mistake,” Jaylen Brown, the vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, told the Boston Globe.
“We understand from an outside perspective how important sensitivity is to not condone hate speech and not condone anything of that nature. It’s sensitivity to the dialect around that. We don’t want to stand up for somebody in order to not condemn hate speech, but I don’t believe Kyrie Irving is antisemitic. And hopefully the NBA feels the same way,” Brown continued.
“But I’m expecting the NBPA to appeal the suspension from Brooklyn,” Brown continued. “The terms, etc., that went into his return. The terms for his return, they seem like a lot, and a lot of the players expressed discomfort with the terms,” Brown said.
Notice how all these groups who are ultra outraged over Dave Chappelle’s SNL routine and Kyrie Irving posting an amazon link, are silent on actual nazi tattoo wearing white supremacist deputy gangs within law enforcement all over the country
— Tariq Nasheed ???????? (@tariqnasheed) November 16, 2022
As reported by Moguldom, Silver shared similar remarks in an interview with The New York Times. “We had a direct and candid conversation. He’s someone I’ve known for a decade, and I’ve never heard an antisemitic word from him or, frankly, hate directed at any group,” he said.
Silver added, “Whether or not he is antisemitic is not relevant to the damage caused by the posting of hateful content.”
As Irving remains suspended, many of his supporters have called for a boycott of the NBA and the Nets.
“When I hear what Kyrie Irving has to go through in order to be reinstated, I’m appalled,” former Chicago Bulls player Jay Williams said in a video he posted to social media. “And let me give you examples about how I feel like we don’t have the same energy and hold other people who have dealt with racial tropes accountable.”
Williams then noted how white Jewish celebrities such as Sara Silverman and Howard Stern were not censored for dressing in blackface and using the N-word.
“What we feel like has happened with Kyrie is even after an apology, it’s not enough. We feel like there needs to be more and a lot of people I’ve spoken to the last couple of days talk about buck breaking,” Williams continued via Moguldom. “We should hold everybody accountable. … but we don’t keep the same energy for everybody. We pick and choose what conversational points we want to make more polarizing. Is Kyrie Irving antisemitic? Hell no!”
Kyrie Irving thoughts:
I do NOT take the position that I speak for ALL black people. I speak for myself & my experiences.I come to the table with my sword down. I come to the table to engage in dialogue with empathy. We have to continue to EXCHANGE…. pic.twitter.com/JNimr2xOLY
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) November 8, 2022
Ronald Dalton Jr. condemned the backlash against Irving and refused to apologize for producing the film.
“I’m not apologizing for nothing because i can’t be Anti-Semitic because i’m an Israelite (Shemite). Still waiting for a debate with the Top Rabbis to prove who is a Israelite by blood & who can rightfully use the word ‘Anti-Semitic,’ Dalton tweeted.
Press Release. I’m not apologizing for nothing because i can’t be Anti-Semitic because i’m an Israelite (Shemite). Still waiting for a debate with the Top Rabbis to prove who is a Israelite by blood & who can rightfully use the word “Anti-Semitic”. #ASKRONDALTON#DEBATERONDALTON pic.twitter.com/3FZCMhTGSX
— Ronald Dalton Jr (@hebrews2negroes) November 7, 2022
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