“I didn’t mean to cause any harm. I’m not the one that made the
documentary. … .Where were you guys asking those same questions when I was a
kid learning about the traumatic events of my familial history and what I’m
proud to come from. And why I’m proud to stand here. And why when I
repeat myself that I’m not going to stand down, it has nothing to do with
dismissing any other race or group of people. I’m just proud of my heritage and what we’ve been through and the
fact that this has pinned me against the Jewish community and I’m here
answering questions of whether or not I’m sorry or not about something I didn’t
create and was something I shared, and I’m telling everybody I’m taking
responsibility, then that’s where I sit.”
— Kyrie Irving’s response during a supposed news conference held yesterday when reporters asked him to apologize for posting tof a link to an anti-Semitic documentary on his Twitter account and his refusal to disavow it
"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 anti-Semitic 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 anti-Semitic 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 anti-Semitism 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."
— Brooklyn Nets statement after suspending Kyrie Irving for at least five games for his posting of a link to an anti-Semitic documentary on his Twitter account and his refusal to disavow it
"Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film containing deeply offensive anti-Semitic material. While we appreciate the fact that he agreed to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that he has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize. I will be meeting with Kyrie in person in the next week to discuss this situation.”
— NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s statement on the Kyrie Irving situation
“To all Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize.”
— Kyrie Irving posting to Instagram after finding out he was suspended for his actions and non-actions
It is interesting when stories pretty much write themselves, and in my long career as a writer, you get one of these stories maybe once or twice a year …
And one of those times is today.
But today is not a time to rejoice; it is a time to ask why this all happened in the first place and why it took the Brooklyn Nets and the commissioner’s office so long to respond to it.
The offending post was made on October 22, if memory serves me correctly. Yesterday was November 3, so it took the Nets exactly 12 days to do what they should have done immediately.
And the NBA office in Manhattan also sat on its hands, so they are no better than the Nets are in this matter.
Irving not only showed his true colors at the news conference yesterday, but he also showed his true colors after he was suspended, acting like a child disciplined by his parent and asking for forgiveness.
And he also gave us another clue of the dysfunctional nature of the Nets’ relationship with the Jewish community when he said that he never met with the Anti-Definamtion League when it was announced two days ago that the team and Irving were both going to donate a sum of money and hold some conferences about discrimination.
That was a pure smokescreen, and as I have reported here, the Nets do not have a very good relationship with the Jewish community based on past actions, so this wasn’t the first time that those cracks and crevices have been on display.
As it is, the suspension should have been an immediate one, and since it took so long, it demonstrates that the NBA—which is the most political of all the sports leagues—needs to look inward, and explore why this happened, and why it took them so long to react.
The other day, I did bring up that outside of a few prominent former NBA players, not a single current player had one word to say about this situation, and, in fact, black leaders were also ignoring it too.
LeBron James, who has a lot to say about seemingly everything under the sun, was mum about this incident, as was the likes of former President Barack Obama and our current vice president, Kamala Harris, herself married to a Jew.
Why? Why no outrage about this from them?
And now we come to Irving, who will lose five days of pay and miss out on the next five games, again helping to sabotage his team, which isn’t currently burning up the league with him or without him.
The Nets say he will be suspended for five games, but let’s be honest about it, he cannot ever play for the Nets again and be in good favor with its fan base.
I am sure they are actively looking to get rid of him through a trade or a salary dump. Honestly, it would be best for the team to disassociate themselves with him, no matter how talented he is on the court.
And then you have the fans, me being one of them.
I have attended NBA games my entire life, but as I have seen the NBA morph more into a political group than a sports group, I think this may be the last straw for me.
Although I love basketball—the game, not the politics—I think I have seen my final NBA game in person.
I have been going to games since 1965, when my father took me to the old Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks.
— Kyrie Irving’s response during a supposed news conference held yesterday when reporters asked him to apologize for posting tof a link to an anti-Semitic documentary on his Twitter account and his refusal to disavow it
"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 anti-Semitic 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 anti-Semitic 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 anti-Semitism 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."
— Brooklyn Nets statement after suspending Kyrie Irving for at least five games for his posting of a link to an anti-Semitic documentary on his Twitter account and his refusal to disavow it
"Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film containing deeply offensive anti-Semitic material. While we appreciate the fact that he agreed to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that he has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize. I will be meeting with Kyrie in person in the next week to discuss this situation.”
— NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s statement on the Kyrie Irving situation
“To all Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize.”
— Kyrie Irving posting to Instagram after finding out he was suspended for his actions and non-actions
It is interesting when stories pretty much write themselves, and in my long career as a writer, you get one of these stories maybe once or twice a year …
And one of those times is today.
But today is not a time to rejoice; it is a time to ask why this all happened in the first place and why it took the Brooklyn Nets and the commissioner’s office so long to respond to it.
The offending post was made on October 22, if memory serves me correctly. Yesterday was November 3, so it took the Nets exactly 12 days to do what they should have done immediately.
And the NBA office in Manhattan also sat on its hands, so they are no better than the Nets are in this matter.
Irving not only showed his true colors at the news conference yesterday, but he also showed his true colors after he was suspended, acting like a child disciplined by his parent and asking for forgiveness.
And he also gave us another clue of the dysfunctional nature of the Nets’ relationship with the Jewish community when he said that he never met with the Anti-Definamtion League when it was announced two days ago that the team and Irving were both going to donate a sum of money and hold some conferences about discrimination.
That was a pure smokescreen, and as I have reported here, the Nets do not have a very good relationship with the Jewish community based on past actions, so this wasn’t the first time that those cracks and crevices have been on display.
As it is, the suspension should have been an immediate one, and since it took so long, it demonstrates that the NBA—which is the most political of all the sports leagues—needs to look inward, and explore why this happened, and why it took them so long to react.
The other day, I did bring up that outside of a few prominent former NBA players, not a single current player had one word to say about this situation, and, in fact, black leaders were also ignoring it too.
LeBron James, who has a lot to say about seemingly everything under the sun, was mum about this incident, as was the likes of former President Barack Obama and our current vice president, Kamala Harris, herself married to a Jew.
Why? Why no outrage about this from them?
And now we come to Irving, who will lose five days of pay and miss out on the next five games, again helping to sabotage his team, which isn’t currently burning up the league with him or without him.
The Nets say he will be suspended for five games, but let’s be honest about it, he cannot ever play for the Nets again and be in good favor with its fan base.
I am sure they are actively looking to get rid of him through a trade or a salary dump. Honestly, it would be best for the team to disassociate themselves with him, no matter how talented he is on the court.
And then you have the fans, me being one of them.
I have attended NBA games my entire life, but as I have seen the NBA morph more into a political group than a sports group, I think this may be the last straw for me.
Although I love basketball—the game, not the politics—I think I have seen my final NBA game in person.
I have been going to games since 1965, when my father took me to the old Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks.
I have followed suit, and taken my own son to games at the Garden, Barclays Center and other venues.
I am now done, because I received a clear message from this latest debacle that the NBA doesn’t care about me.
The NBA has forgotten its own roots which top to bottom was Jewish in nature—owners, players and fans—and I just can’t accept that anymore.
They have lost me, and I am sure that I speak for many others when I say that I have had enough.
I am now done, because I received a clear message from this latest debacle that the NBA doesn’t care about me.
The NBA has forgotten its own roots which top to bottom was Jewish in nature—owners, players and fans—and I just can’t accept that anymore.
They have lost me, and I am sure that I speak for many others when I say that I have had enough.
The end.
I have a very early appointment on Monday, so I will skip that day and be back with you on Tuesday, which just happens to be Election Day.
Don’t forget to vote!
Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you bright and early on Tuesday morning, right before I go out and cast my own vote.
I have a very early appointment on Monday, so I will skip that day and be back with you on Tuesday, which just happens to be Election Day.
Don’t forget to vote!
Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you bright and early on Tuesday morning, right before I go out and cast my own vote.
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