Kyrie Irving No. 11 of the Brooklyn Nets handles the ball during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second round of the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Barclays Center on June 7, 2021 in New York City.
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After Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving promoted an anti-illness movie and book on social media on Thursday, his team and team owner Joe Tsai released a statement condemning the action. his on Friday.
“I was disappointed when Kyrie showed up to support a movie based on a book full of anti-semiological misinformation,” said Tsai wrote on Twitter. “I want to sit down and make sure he understands this hurts all of us, and as a person of faith it is wrong to incite hatred based on race, ethnicity or religion. .”
Irving posted a tweet Thursday linking to the Amazon page for the movie “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which is “crammed with dissent,” according to an earlier report from Rolling Stone. The film was released in 2018 and is based on a 2015 book of the same name.
The Nets condemned Irving’s actions in a statement Friday.
“Brooklyn Nets strongly condemns and has zero tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech,” the team said in the statement. “We believe that in these situations our first course of action should be an open, honest dialogue. We thank those, including the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), who have supported us. support over the years.”
In a tweet Saturday, Irving said he “didn’t mean to disrespect anyone’s religious beliefs.”
“The label ‘Anti-Semitic’ being assigned to me is unreasonable and does not reflect the reality or truth that I live every day,” he wrote. “I accept and want to learn from all walks of life and religion.”
He did not delete his original tweet.
Irving’s post on Thursday follows a series of hateful comments made in recent weeks by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Adidas, Gap, Foot Locker and other organizations have since cutting ties with Ye and make him a billionaire.
Anti-Defamation League, StopAntisemisism and International Legal Forum welcomed Adidas’ move on Tuesday.
Irving was previously benched by the Nets in 2021 for Refuse to get vaccinated against Covid-19. It is unclear whether his social media posts have affected his ability to compete.
The Nets will play the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.
