Kyrie Irving has been suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for at least five games without pay, one week after the superstar guard publicly promoted an antisemitic documentary.
Irving is now "unfit to be connected with the Brooklyn Nets," and he must take "a series of objective remedial measures" that remedy the detrimental consequences of his behavior" before he can rejoin the team, as reported by CBS News.
KD, LeBron Reacts on Kyrie's Situation
Irving posted "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America" on social media on Oct. 27 and refuses to denounce it or apologize despite several chances. Kyrie Irving took to Instagram late on Thursday to express regret over his ban.
Irving's statement, in part, read, "I posted a Documentary that contained some false anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion, and I take full accountability and responsibility for my actions. With such a large forum at my disposal, I feel compelled to make the most of this opportunity by engaging in a frank discussion with others.
It continued, "I apologize for promoting the documentary "without context and a factual explanation" stating the exact concepts in the Film he "agreed with and disagreed with."
Several hours before Irving's ban and apology, NBA commissioner Adam Silver stated he was "disappointed" that Irving "had not provided an "unqualified apology" and rejected the hateful and detrimental content.
Kevin Durant, a star for the Brooklyn Nets, described the backlash following Kyrie Irving's social media tweets about an anti-Semitic book and movie as an "unfortunate scenario" that "just sucks all around for everybody" and maybe everyone can "move past it."
Per ESPN, after the Friday shootaround, Kevin Durant said, "I ain't here to judge nobody or put down on nobody for how they feel, their view, or anything." He added that whatever happened made him uncomfortable. KD clarified his remarks on Twitter: "I don't condone hate speech or antisemitism."
Just wanna clarify the statements I made at shootaround, I see some people are confused..I don’t condone hate speech or anti-semetism, I’m about spreading love always. Our game Unites people and I wanna make sure that’s at the forefront
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) November 4, 2022
LeBron James, a former teammate of Irving's, was questioned about the silence of the league's players, who are normally regarded as being socially aware. The Lakers superstar remarked Friday night, "I can't speak for 450 players." LeBron James did not call out his former teammate in Cleveland for his recent offensive actions.
He firmly noted that he does not approve of any form of "hatred towards people of all ethnicities." LeBron James mentioned the move of his media business Uninterrupted not to air a recent episode of his YouTube show "The Shop," which Kanye West, as a guest, as an example of how they uphold those same beliefs.
According to James, this was "part of the reason why they decided not to run the 'The Shop' episode, why we booted that out of the archives." hateful talk in it that could benefit no one. LeBron James also believes that Kyrie Irving "caused harm to a lot of people."
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No More Nike Kyrie 8
In response to the antisemitism uproar started by the Brooklyn Nets star, Nike terminated its partnership with Kyrie Irving on Friday, according to report published by ABS-CBN News.
The announcement comes a day after the Nets suspended Irving for a minimum of five games for "failure to disavow antisemitism" on social media or in interviews.
Irving did apologize on Instagram a few hours after the punishment was handed down, but Nike still distanced themselves from him on Friday by declaring they will not release the Kyrie 8 shoe, which was scheduled to be launched this month.
