Kyrie Irving continues to be a distraction.
Kyrie Irving said Saturday he embraced all religions, defiantly defending his right to post whatever he believes after the owner of the Brooklyn Nets said he was disappointed that Irving appeared to back an antisemitic film.
“We’re in 2022. History is not supposed to be hidden from anybody and I’m not a divisive person when it comes to religion,” Irving said during a tense postgame press conference. “I embrace all walks of life.”
The NBA issued the following statement: pic.twitter.com/vuTVhEegeh
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 29, 2022
Nets owner Joe Tsai said Friday he is disappointed that Irving appears to support a film “based on a book full of antisemitic disinformation.” The Nets’ star guard posted a link for the film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” on Twitter on Thursday. The synopsis on Amazon said the film “uncovers the true identity of the Children of Israel.”
“The organization has spoken to Kyrie about it,” Nets coach Steve Nash said before their loss to Indiana, not divulging specifics of what that meant.
But nothing that was said will stop Irving from what he wants to share.
“I’m not going to stand down on anything I believe in,” he said. “I’m only going to get stronger because I’m not alone. I have a whole army around me.”
Nash said the organization finally spoke to Irving about his posts.
“I don’t think our group is overly affected by the situation,” Nash said. “We’ve had so many situations over the last two-and-a-half years I think we’ve kind of built an immunity to some of it.”
The NBA on Saturday said “hate speech of any kind is unacceptable.”
“We believe we all have a role to play in ensuring such words or ideas, including anti-Semitic ones, are challenged and refuted and we will continue working with all members of the NBA community to ensure that everyone understands the impact of their words and actions,” the league said.
It was not clear if that meant the league has spoken to Irving, or plans to speak to him on the matter.
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