NBA, Nets respond to Irving tweets
Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving said she believes in all religions, two days after appearing to show her support for an anti-Semitic film.
The NBA, meanwhile, addressed the issue Saturday by condemning hate speech in a statement, but did not mention Irving’s name or make a direct reference to his latest controversial storyline.
“I am an OMNISTA and I did not want to disrespect anyone’s religious beliefs,” reads a tweet posted on Irving’s account.
“The ‘anti-Semitic’ label that is imposed on me is unjustified and does not reflect the reality or truth in which I live on a daily basis. I embrace and want to learn from all walks of life and from all religions. “
Nets owner Joe Tsai said Friday he was disappointed that Irving appeared to be supporting a film “based on a book full of anti-Semitic misinformation.” On Thursday, the Brooklyn star guard posted a link to the movie “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” on Twitter. The synopsis on Amazon states that the film “reveals the true identity of the children of Israel”.
Irving set a season record of 35 points in the Nets’ 125-116 defeat to Indiana on Saturday.
“The organization talked to Kyrie about it,” said Nets manager Steve Nash, who did not explain what it meant.
Tsai and the Nets reacted quickly to the latest problems raised by Irving, who had previously advocated the idea that the Earth was flat and took to social media last month to share an old clip from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
“I want to sit down and make sure he understands that this is bad for all of us, and as a man of faith it is wrong to promote hatred based on race, ethnicity or religion,” he said. Tsai tweeted about Irving.
The NBA said “hate speech of any kind is unacceptable”.
“We believe we all have a role to play in ensuring that such words or ideas, including anti-Semitic ones, are challenged and refuted and we will continue to work with all members of the NBA community to ensure that everyone understands the impact of their words and actions.” , the league said.
It wasn’t clear if this meant the league had talked to Irving or planned to talk to him about it.
“The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have zero tolerance for promoting any form of hate speech,” the team said in a statement.
“We believe that in these situations our first action must be an open and honest dialogue. We thank those, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), who have supported us during this period. “
Nash was asked on Saturday if he thought Irving’s latest script was a distraction.
“I don’t think our group is too affected by the situation,” Nash said.
“We’ve had so many situations over the past two and a half years that I think we’ve created immunity to some of them. I also think our kids are not very familiar with the material ”.