NOVEMBER 17: Irving is expected to suit up on Sunday against the Grizzlies, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Charania’s sources add that both Irving and the Nets feel he has done positive work throughout his suspension to learn and grow, including having met with several community leaders. One source added that the seven-time All-Star went “above and beyond” the Nets’ guidance for what was required in his return.
NOVEMBER 16: Nets guard Kyrie Irving, who is currently serving a suspension without pay for promoting an antisemitic film on Twitter and failing to apologize or condemn the material multiple times afterward, could rejoin the team as soon as Sunday’s game versus Memphis, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Thursday’s contest at Portland will mark Irving’s eighth straight missed game, but the end of his suspension appears to be imminent, per Wojnarowski.
“Kyrie is continuing his journey of dialogue and education,” NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio told ESPN on Wednesday night. “He has been grappling with the full weight of the impact of his voice and actions, particularly in the Jewish community. Kyrie rejects antisemitism in any form, and he’s dedicated to bettering himself and increasing his level of understanding. He plans to continue this journey well into the future to ensure that his words and actions align with his pursuit of truth and knowledge.”
According to Wojnarowski, Tremaglio and the players’ union worked in tandem with Irving, the Nets, and the NBA to help the seven-time All-Star through the suspension process. While the Nets initially gave Irving a list of six requirements in order for the suspension to be lifted, the situation “evolved into Irving himself taking ownership of the process, which is what the Nets and league hoped would be the case,” Wojnarowski writes.
Irving, who eventually apologized via Instagram after being suspended, had constructive meetings with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Nets owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai last week. Both Silver and the Tsais said they didn’t believe Irving to be antisemitic, but Silver said that was “not relevant to the damage caused by the posting of hateful content.”
The Nets have dropped back-to-back games, including Tuesday’s blowout loss at Sacramento in which they gave up a season-high 153 points, and currently sit with a 6-9 record in 2022/23. Still, they’ve played decently overall without Irving, going 4-3 in his absence.
Irving is in the final year of contract, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Through eight games (38.6 minutes per night), he holds averages of 26.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks on .453/.280/.927 shooting.
Is it too much for a public verbal apology, like how hard is it to look in a camera and say I’m sorry for anyone I hurt.
I have been thinking this exactly. Some apologies come across as more authentic than others, but a social media apology leaves so much for interpretation.
Especially when you know these guys have a PR team. Reading his statement it came off as someone else wrote it for him. I don’t care if doesn’t ever say he was wrong, he can continue to believe his ridiculous garbage but he needs to be an adult and acknowledge his actions not only hurt a lot of people but by sharing them he put a group of marginalized people at risk.
He won’t do it because he’s not sorry
so? vast majority of the time someone famous has to “apologize” theyre not sorry. just sorry society is forcing them to be.
Since his social media post is what got him in trouble, then his apology on social media should be sufficient.
No, it’s not. If you break the law online, let’s say by threatening someone, they don’t just take your computer privileges away. Not everything exists over one medium.
Kyrie is a coward for not owning up to any of this in person, put simply. Are you defending a coward? Or do you think what he said just isn’t a big deal?
Break the law online ?
Say wutttttt…….
What law did he break?
That’s a metaphor, jjdoo2. Do you know what a metaphor is?
My issue is he posted the original thing and I don’t buy for a second he wrote his apology post, it was too clinical and came off as a PR team doing damage control. I want Kyrie to look at the cameras and say I recognize that I hurt people and for that I’m sorry it was never my goal to hurt anyone I was just sharing something that I found interesting. I’d prefer him to continue by saying he firmly denounces the movie and that he’s learned that it’s conspiracy bs but I’m not holding my breath that Kyrie actually learned anything from this but basic human decency says he should at least apologize for hurting people.
But that’s the problem – he is not sorry. So there is no authentic apology.
The apology is meaningless… he needs to confront these brainwashed zombies that gather outside the arenas wherever Brooklyn goes spreading this false narrative about the Jewish community and explain why he was wrong. The problem with this whole thing is that it is always this “other” group that did something awful to “us”. Those zombies, and Kyrie Irving, may not be anti-semetic or racist, but they seem to always fall into the trap of blaming a whole group of people for doing awful things. I think we can all agree some people do awful things sometimes. Blaming everyone related to these awful people because they have the same color skin, ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion, whatever is bound to place the blame on innocent people and put them in danger because eventual some “righteous” lunatic shows up in a crowded room and starts killing indiscriminately.
The apology thing is such a joke in a general sense. Anyone can make an apology and anyone can decide that one was or wasn’t sufficient. There are better ways to show contrition.
Yes, like doing it in person—or even better, on camera—rather than behind a keyboard on your Instagram.
If he did it in person most still wouldn’t believe him.
Wonder what the reaction from the crowd will be when he’s introduced pre-game?
Are they saying boooo or Jewww?
I’d say “meshuggah”!
Nuff said. Move on.
… until the next episode of ‘What Will Kyrie Do?’
He IS a great hooper
He’s a great human being too, for sure.
Hope this is sarcasm
Everybody knows Kyrie and the many who support his beliefs aren’t really sorry but are doing this just for appearances and to be able to play again
Make a public apology just so everyone can then say, “He didn’t mean that… he just said it because… (insert everyone else’s reasons)
I think the greater question is what will Kyrie do next?
He cannot just play basketball. He has shown that for over 4 years now. So what is the next Kyrie created controversy that he can feel isolated and against the world.
There will be something…
Agreed it never ends with this guy? Next thing you know he’ll do something like donate hundreds of thousands of dollars and food to local food banks during the lockdown? Or maybe he’ll pay WNBA player’s salaries again, perhaps something like donating several pallets of PPE to the his late mother’s tribe, or pay off several kid’s college tuition?
LMAO at “his journey of dialogue and education”.
Let’s see how the Nets do after he returns.
#LetKyriePlay
Shouldn’t have been suspended at all. I’m not a fan, but still glad he’s back.
Drop him off at the end of the world ……
lost soul ……
Kyrie is happy because he was successful in being a drama queen once again. That was his sole purpose! :)
He paid the NBA fine, satisfied the Execs, not much else can be done. If folks are after a more sorry Irving they are not gonna get it. Latrell Sprewell didn’t, and Mahmud Abdul Rauf didn’t, and throw in Enes Freedom too. Irving did what he did for his reason. He doesn’t strike me as a mental case, often injured maybe.
He deserves to be dropped back into the crap fire that is the Nets season. They suck and so does he
Some people are way more obnoxious than Irving…
You’re so disingenuous with that comment. Try being honest. You might even feel good about it, depending on what type of person you are. Sorry, a well meaning, honest person doesn’t usually minimize ethnic bigotry/racism to “obnoxious”.