The Brooklyn Nets have suspended Kyrie Irving five games without pay after a turbulent week in which the All-Star posted an antisemitic video on Twitter and declined to apologize, the team announced Thursday, Yahoo News reports. The earliest Irving will be able to return is on Nov. 13.
Irving has been under fire since last week, when he tweeted a link to a documentary on Amazon containing a number of antisemitic conspiracy theories and falsehoods, including a fabricated quote from Adolf Hitler. The offending tweet has since been deleted, but the aftermath has remained messy for the Nets. Irving spent days disregarding criticism and insisting he’s not an antisemite, first with a tweet claiming to be an “omnist” and having meant no disrespect then in a combative news conference in which he claimed tweeting the video wasn’t akin to promoting or endorsing it.
The club likely hoped that would be the end of the firestorm, but several observers noted Irving never actually apologized in the statement, then a subsequent meeting with reporters went even worse.
Asked if he would apologize, Irving deflected. Asked if he held antisemitic beliefs as a yes-or-no question, Irving responded “I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from,” echoing the ahistorical Black Hebrew Israelite movement put forward in the documentary, which claims Black people to be the true descendants of ancient Israelites and modern Jews to have stolen their heritage from them.
The Brooklyn Nets’ full statement on Kyrie Irving:
“Over the last several days, we have made repeated attempts to work with Kyrie Irving to help him understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate. We believed that taking the path of education in this challenging situation would be the right one and thought that we had made progress with our joint commitment to eradicating hate and intolerance.
We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity – but failed – to clarify.
Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets. We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct and the suspension period served is no less than five games.”
goog
Keep in mind that the Black Hebrew Israelite movement are the ones who carried out a terrorist attack against Frum Yidden in Jersey City a few years ago. This ball player should be taught a lesson that others should observe.
The ADL and SPLC had listed the Black Hebrew Israelites as hate groups but nobody had listened to them. And despite the Jersey City shootings, it seems like until today they were still ignored.
So what do you suggest we do about it? Can we do anything about it? Will Chris Wray and Merrick Garland investigate this group? Why not?
The FBI and DOJ will never investigate a black. The new woke rules don’t allow for such a thing. That’s called racist.
And suspending him is going to get him to like Jews more? Whether we like it or not, the US Constitution allows free speech.
The US Constitution allows free speech, but I assume it also allows a team owner to fire a player, or suspend him, if the player’s words and deeds are full of hate.
There are those who attribute hate to a lack of education. But in truth, hate usually comes from bad character traits, not a lack of education.
Will suspending this player get him to like Jews more? No. He might even use that as an excuse to hate Jews even more. But ignoring the hate, or trying to educate the haters, is not the solution either. Educating the haters is a fanciful and unrealistic concept.
5 games isnt enough
Strikers. They rest themselves to join a cross away extension of war.
Do you think Kryie can show us the very inheritance of even language? He is driving to be a war.