The Nets have announced in a press statement (via Twitter) that they have suspended Kyrie Irving for at least five games, without pay.
After Brooklyn’s starting point guard promoted a film peddling a variety of falsehoods that has widely been criticized as antisemitic on his personal Twitter account last week, pushback was decidedly muted at first. The NBA and NBPA both issued statements denouncing antisemitism broadly, without mentioning Irving by name (Irving is a vice president on the NBPA). Nets majority owner Joe Tsai expressed his disappointment with Irving, noting he would like to “sit down” with Irving to discuss why amplifying hateful media can be hurtful.
Irving then had a combative exchange with reporters, specifically Nick Friedell of ESPN, during a Saturday postgame presser, having left the offending tweet online. Irving ultimately relented, deleting the post on Sunday. The Nets subsequently opted to withhold Irving from further media interactions for the next several days, with team president Sean Marks claiming he wanted to let the seven-time All-Star “simmer down” before speaking with reporters further.
The Nets and Irving issued a joint statement with the Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday, in which both the point guard and his team pledged to donate $500K each to the ADL. Irving at no point in his comments issued a formal apology to the Jewish community. NBA commissioner Adam Silver criticized that statement today with a response of his own, like Tsai saying he intended to meet with Irving to discuss the hurtful content of the documentary and his lack of a full apology.
Today, during his first remarks to the press since the weekend, Irving still stopped short of actually formally apologizing, Friedell writes. “I take my responsibility for posting that,” Irving told gathered reporters. “Some things that were questionable in there, untrue. Like I said in the first time you guys asked me when I was sitting on that stage, I don’t believe everything that everybody posts — it’s a documentary.”
Regarding the film’s lie that the Holocaust did not transpire, Irving did make a point of acknowledging that was inaccurate.
“Those falsehoods are unfortunate,” Irving allowed. “And it’s not that I don’t believe in the Holocaust. I never said that. Never, ever have said it. It’s not come out of my mouth. I never tweeted it. I never liked anything like it. So the Holocaust in itself is an event that means something to a large group of people that suffered something that could have been avoided.”
Friedell notes that reporters then inquired as to whether Irving himself possessed any antisemitic beliefs, and he somewhat danced around a direct response.
“I don’t know how the label becomes justified because you guys ask me the same questions over and over again,” Irving said. “But this is not going to turn into a spin-around cycle — questions upon questions.. I told you guys how I felt. I respect all walks of life and embrace all walks of life. That’s where I sit. … I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.”
Despite Irving’s pledge to the ADL, sources inform Adam Zagoria of NJ.com that Irving has yet to actually meet with the ADL for a conversation. The ADL’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, responded to the Nets point guard’s Thursday remarks (Twitter links).
“The answer to the question ‘Do you have any antisemitic beliefs’ is always ‘NO’ without equivocation,” Greenblatt wrote in part. “We took @KyrieIrving at his word when he said he took responsibility, but today he did not make good on that promise. Kyrie clearly has a lot of work to do.”
That brings us to the present, and the Nets’ decision.
“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 antisemitic hate,” Brooklyn’s statement began. “We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity – but failed – to clarify.
“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.”
Greenblatt, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that the ADL will not accept Irving’s $500K donation since it’s clear he feels “no accountability for his actions” (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).
Irving is currently earning $36,503,300 for the 2022/23 season. As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link), he will forfeit $251,747 for each game of his suspension — 1/145th of his total salary.
The open-ended nature of Brooklyn’s penalty suggests that the club may require some level of quantifiable contrition before Irving is allowed to return.
Clown
Dude once thought (or still does) that the earth was flat.
None of this should come as any surprise. As good as he is at basketball, he is one stupid MF. (And yes I realize he has more money than I’ll ever see or make to save you that comment ahead of time Kyrie defenders)
Kyrie is the worst. He doesn’t feel sorry, he doesn’t care. He will never truly apologize and mean it!
I hated the “Shut up and Dribble” thing when it came out a few years back, but, sheeeesh, Kyrie… come on, young fella! Know when to say when! We already know you’re intellectual – you don’t need to insist on trying to prove it.
The only thing I’d like to hear from him now is, “Hey, can I get that $500k back now?”
Kyrie Irving, intellectual? Since when? At this point it’s pretty damn clear he’s a racist moron. Intellectual… man how low is the bar for you?
He claims to be a truth teller lol
At one point he thought the Earth was flat. You lose claims to being intellectual at this point.
cavs…even if he WERE to apologize now….it would smell contrived
He should be suspended for the rest of the year. He’s a cancer for the whole league. He’ll learn nothing from this suspension.
Lakers.
Yeeeeeessssss
Even LeBron and the Lakers cannot trade for Kyrie at this point.
Meanwhile, the options where Russell Westbrook can play, and potentially ball out and play the way he wants, seem to grow every day.
The only way I saw that a trade could work with the Nets and Lakers would be Kyrie and Curry for Westbrook. The Nets would use one of their TPEs to cover the difference in salary.
Trade him to LA. Westbrook carried KD. He can do it again. Get those two #1s plus lol.
Freak Kyrie ….. let BronGM deal with him.
Nets waive kyrie, lakers on a minimum deal. Westbrook for useful pieces, lakers all of a sudden look great. Coincidentally, that apology will come before he puts on the purple and gold.
“lakers all of a sudden look great”
AHAHHAHA.
Nope.
That apology is not coming – as he is not sorry.
It will come once the nets waive him. Hell need to before he can suit up for the lakers.
And once that happens the Lakers will be great.
Got it.
Nets had their chance to get those picks. Should’ve taken it. Yesterday’s price ain’t today’s price.
I mean half the league agrees with him if we are being honest
Nobody knows what the H he’s even talking about. I watched that movie. It’s over three hours long and boring as can be. The narrator, also the author of the book, speaks a million miles an hour. The material covered is very complex, difficult to follow. Not one nba player actuallly watched. I doubt kyrie watched the whole thing..
I guarantee they don’t. Most were raised in the Christian church and think he is a clown. Which he is.
You think half the league are Black Hebrew Israelites?
It’s unnerving more common than a lot of people know
The players are simply watching out for themselves, yes it is dishonorable but Kyrie was formerly high up in the Players Union. It’s sad that everyone can come out for Black Lives Matter (a worthy cause) but shrink away when Stop AAPI Hate and End Antisemitism movements trend. Can I blame the smaller players? No. Can I blame some of the bigger stars shrinking away from Equality as an absolute goal when literally, it’s now here and they’re silent? Yes. You have the space NBA players, do something.
And no half the league does not agree with him, that’s lunacy but yes, I wouldn’t be shocked if a high proportion of players hold empathetic opinions of that view. Be like Kareem people. F*** this isn’t that hard.
Which is a terrible thing. But you’re right. No current players spoke out. Gutless
Good to see the Nets finally take action. Ofc, it won’t change anything.
One of YouTube University’s worst alums
$500,000 donation is a pretty big apology. That goes farther than words. Seems a bit late and over the top.
When not suspended, Kyrie gets paid $250,000 per game.
Seriously? $ = apology?
I’m just saying that he could say the words but the money he donated can be used to do more good than just a hollow apology. Like when people say thoughts and prayers after a tragedy, those are just words. That was my point
Well, it turns out. No, it doesn’t. *Curb your enthusiasm music*
Dollars don’t mean nothing at that paygrade. He’s shown zero remorse
He didn’t get fined, he donated. A half a million dollars can do a Jewish organization much more good than an insincere apology
It has finally happened. Irving has officially overtaken Russell Westbrook as most toxic player in NBA and my most hated player as well. There’s a good chance Irving has played his last game for the Nets and possibly NBA based on this. I fully expect the Nets to engage in contract buyout with him. Even the Lakers will not give up draft picks for this guy…….
Btw, I have always despised Irving for his “I-am-smarter-than-you” attitude and arrogance…..
Come on man, Westbrook isn’t toxic in the least, he’s just not a winner. Guy busts ass every game, PLAYS as many games as he possibly can, and moves to the bench without much complaining.
Westbrook I can’t stand, but does not remotely deserve to be hated. Kyrie does.
Russ is much more if a professional
No way he ever plays for the Nets again. The fan base of bkln is comprised largely of Jews! Maybe the largest concentration of Jews in the world outside of Jerusalem. Kyrie didn’t apologize. He’s gone. Maybe that’s what he wanted?
Brighton Beach repreent
Kyrie is gonna be all mean mad now.
Udoka will make it all go away.
What a clown… hopefully the nba follows suit and suspends him indefinitely!!!
Kyrie is done, and Ben Simmons is trash. The Nets are done. Bring on the offers for KD. What a waste of talent. They will go down as the biggest waste of talent in sports history.
I am interested to see if Kyrie ends up bending the knee. Regardless, any apology will be a joke.
Its now up to Nike to cancel the shoe contract so that his shoe money is gone. He did not have to play during the Covid restrictions, he had his shoe money…
I believe Nike already put a hold on his contract before all this stuff took place.
Lol. I didn’t know the film denied the Holocaust. That’s pretty bad. Him and Kanye are both mentally disturbed.
Now I will say his refusal to say he is not anti-Semitic is being overblown. The dude is going to donate $500k to the ADL. That seems pretty clear. They need to suspend him and move on. It’s beating a dead horse at this point.
Its to rich to have the people in your life tell you your full of s*** disease…
At least you’ve realized what it contains. Many on social media and in the media itself never saw the video before supporting Kyrie
Hopefully Seth Curry gets it going. Durant could tear it up flanked by Mills, Curry, Harris and Claxton without having to worry about Simmons refusing to shoot and Kyrie cratering the offense by shooting .280 from deep on 9+ attempts per game. By no means a championship team but they could make some noise.
A long and sad noise perhaps.
@tacocat1331 It’s a wrap bro! I was Brooklyn’s biggest supporter. It took two games for me to realize the circus that it really is.
Apologies to Blake Griffin, a guy I threw shade at for calling out the “culture” in Brooklyn. Clearly, he was not telling lies.
Without Kyrie, Brooklyn does not have enough offensive firepower to overcome their bad defense. The whole offense now is just KD and Kyrie getting buckets. KD can’t do it by himself. Everybody else is a role player.
This is a team that is headed to the lottery.
Brooklyn is looking like the first of what will ultimately be multiple teams with aging stars looking to start over. Brooklyn is 2-7. A 10-20 start will cement their rebuild.
Big ups for owning it.
I call it like I see it.
Honestly, I have some fun ripping guys on the Celtics. However, in my prior basketball life, I dealt with a bunch of those guys extensively. I haven’t talked to Brad Stevens since he left Butler for the Celtics. That was my guy for a solid 10 years prior to him joining Boston. Former Celtic assistant coaches Micah Shrewberry and Brandon Bailey, those were my guys as well. I’ve done events with Bailey, and have known Micah since he was head coach at IU-South Bend way back in the day.
Has anyone actually watched this alleged anti semetic film?
I sure as hell wasn’t going to spend any money supporting the author so yesterday I downloaded a sample on Kindle of the book the documentary is based to see what it was about. It read like one advertisements they try to pass off as an “article” in a magazine or newspaper. I read about 50 pages and all in all it was hard to follow and I could see where it was going and why it’s viewed as anti-Semitic so I stopped there.
Book has a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Amazon. Surprising something so vile is available for purchase on Amazon. Amazon is getting no bad press for selling it.
Hitler’s book is on there as well
It is? That’s a shame. Though Amazon gets none of the outrage Kyrie does.
Should we burn the books and act like they never existed? I’m pretty sure one of the first things the Nazis did was eliminate Jewish literature and press. It’s a slippery slope and you guys are starting to slide down.
I think Kyrie is an idiot personally, but I hate yet another attack on free speech. I hope he fights and wins his pay back.
Another scholar of the first amendment!
The right to free speech protects you from repercussions from the government. Last I checked, the Brooklyn Nets are not a branch of the government. Do you not believe a privately held business has the right to enforce guidelines over its employees?
@mattv not for something they like on a social media platform outside off their work environment. I think this hurts the league and culture more than any idiotic thing Kyrie does. I can not respect him and his viewpoints and still defend his right to hold and say them…in this case he didn’t really say anything derogatory…rather he endorsed a film done find derogatory…it just sounds stupid to me not harmful….the punishment however seems harmful to me
The Nets, and the league are suspending Kyrie because he hurts their bottom line. When Kyrie signed a contract it said somewhere on there they could fine or suspend him for things of this nature.
If he doesn’t like it he doesn’t need to take the money.
It has nothing to do with “free speech” it has to do with cash flow.
Brooklyn is among the most valuable franchises in the NBA. Kyrie is tanking the current value of the franchise.
Brooklyn also doesn’t emphasize heavily selling season tickets. They rely on walk-up crowd. Kyrie + Losing Games = Game Day Cash Flow problem.
This isn’t how free speech works. Freedom of speech protects the citizen from the government not your employer. Your employer sets the guidelines. Kyrie is free to say whatever he wants on social media(with certain limitations), can espouse or post whatever bigoted nonsense he wants toand will not be prosecuted for breaking the law. However that doesn’t protect him from consequences from his employer or from public scrutiny. It boggles the mind how people still haven’t that out yet.
It is not an attack on free speech. For the love of God, please educate yourself on what free speech is.
Kyrie is free to say whatever he wants. And we are all free to rip him for the moron he is. The government is not involved at all, so free speech is not at play here.
The fact that the book and movie exist and that you can buy them on Amazon is a testament to free speech or at least freedom of the press.
Is the NBA and/or other sports and/or celebrities endorsing Amazon through their advertising? Are they canceling Kyrie and Amazon or just Kyrie. I hate cancel culture…
Amazon doesn’t work for the NBA.
The Nets are a business. You want the employer to pay the price for something bad the employee has done on their own? Ridiculous.
I’m ready for this faux intellect clown to just retire and go away. So thirsty for attention, the same dude that claimed the earth was flat. Now his ignorance has found new lows.
Sixers should trade for him
Yeah because we don’t have enough small guards already. That’s the way to maximize a roster.
Yoy Don’t know what is good
I know Defense is good and ours is not, and Kyrie would weaken that.
I think the dude can ball and is an asset outside of negative media coverage…he’s just gotta be in the right situation. We would not maximize his skills and he would certainly not maximize ours. It’s more about fit than skill
Gas has now been added to the dumpster fire in Brooklyn.
Kyrie truly is a clown. I thought this guy was gonna just play ball, shut up and try to win a title. He just couldn’t do it. I knew better than to have faith in this guy! Kyrie was absolutely an issue in Boston. Fully certified clown.
Even if Kyrie comes back, I don’t believe he will play like Kyrie. Clearly the Nets have been in his ear the past couple of days. His stat line on Tuesday saw him score 4 points on 2-12 shooting (0-6 from 3) in 33 minutes. Kyrie has pretty much played 40+ minutes in each of the last 7 games. He had to get pulled out of a tight game that saw Brooklyn blow a double-digit lead at home. KD had 30 points through 3 quarters picking up the slack.
Brooklyn got to now legitimately be looking at heading into the lottery and blowing the whole thing up. Funny thing is. If they fall into the lottery, they will get a lottery pick. Houston has the option to swap picks, and will have two swings at Wembanyama with Brooklyn getting the worse of the two picks.
KD back on the open market is a game-changer!
Do you still hire Ime Udoka??? Can you still hire Ime Udoka?????
Wondering what Meyers Leonard thinks about this suspension. Also curious how David Stearn would’ve handled this.
Meyers Leonard was suspended by the Heat for 7 days which equated to 5 games.
No team plays 5 games in 7 days
The following is an excerpt from the ESPN article on the subject “The suspension does not include loss of pay for games missed because Leonard is currently injured, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. He appeared in only three games for the Heat this year and was diagnosed with a season-ending shoulder injury in January. He will still be compensated for the five games the Heat play during his suspension.”
Then he was suspended for more than 7 days. No NBA team plays 5 games in 7 days.
@Reno
The Warriors’ current road trip is 5 games in 7 days.
To me, it’s amazing how the league has it in for that team.
Where’s he playing now? I’ll hang up and listen…
Meyers Leonard was rightly suspended. But he apologized right away and showed remorse. He’s been banished from the league since. You can’t tell me he’s worse than any of the big stiffs on benches around the league
I agree, Leonard’s case was ignorance and he seemed genuinely apologetic once he realized the meaning of the slur he used.
If he’s healed up from his ankle surgery and nerve damage and is ready to go then any team that needs a floor stretching big to come off the bench should give him a shot.
An attack on free speech? Sweet fancy Moses that’s as dumb as saying the earth’s flat. Nobody attacked his right to free speech. You do not have the right to just say anything you like without responsibility. There’s plenty of things you are not free to say without penalty and repercussions. You are responsible for your words as well as your actions.
He’s a racist who should be kicked out of the league
Kuminga and Wiggins for KD who says no
Golden State has now lost their last 4 games to Charlotte, Detroit, Miami and Orlando with Steph Curry completely balling out.
You telling me they ain’t eyeballing KD right now????? No contract issues. KD is locked up. Brooklyn is 2-7. Kyrie has entered Kanye territory, and Ben Simmons is out with a knee issue, and not his back.
The Nets say no after catching their breath from laughing so hard.
@A’sfan
The Warriors.
Seems like people don’t know what “freedom of speech” is. I’m willing to bet that the majority of people who are citing “free speech” haven’t even read the first amendment. Let me help you out with that: link to whitehouse.gov
The 3rd word (after “The First Amendment”) is Congress.
It literally lays out what free exercises CONGRESS cannot prohibit.
A non-governmental operation is not Congress… therefore the Nets, or your boss, or HoopsRumors, etc etc. can censor and/or punish whatever speech they prohibit in their rules & guidelines.
Easy.
If this is so hurtful, and it shouldn’t be amplified in the media? Then why is Joe Tsai broaching the subject with the media? That is a contradictory statement in the least.
We live in a country where unpopular speech is a protected right, which makes it the Law. I never agree with anyone who acts beyond the Law. Says a lot about someone who does, and/or supports it. I think everyone looks bad who won’t force this into a transparent public forum, or discourse to find out what exactly the intention of Irvings’ was here. Fining & suspending him is a funny joke at this point. I’m sure he never makes another flat earth comment or “likes” a controversial social media post again… Gimme a break! Its obvious that Irving is having a good time probing the media, because not even the Law gives a rip about what he is doing, only the NBA & the Sports Media Narrative seem dedicated to this
“…because not even the Law gives a rip about what he is doing, only the NBA & the Sports Media Narrative seem dedicated to this”
The Law doesn’t give a rip about a student shouting obscenities in a classroom either…but trust…there’s detention coming.
So…I don’t think “the Law” is the entity that handles these situations…it’s almost like…whichever authority that has first hand……authority…… in the situation is the decider of punishment/no punishment.
In this situation it would be Nets => NBA. This is really not that difficult of a concept
Don’t be too hard on him. The dude struggles.
When Kyrie signed a contract it said somewhere on there they could fine or suspend him for things of this nature. If he doesn’t like it he doesn’t need to take the money.
What on earth are you talking about? Why bring the law into this? It isn’t applicable.
This is way too late. Barkley was right. These punishments at this point show real weakness. Brooklyn was waiting to see the reaction first before acting. Miami showed real integrity by dropping Leonard immediately after his incident. Commissioner Silver also looked weak especially as a Jewish man by not coming down hard on Irving. Kyrie has shown zero real remorse. He didn’t even meet with Jewish leaders like he said he would. His parents went instead. He’s a coward as well as racist
Doubt it…but part of me wonders if he’s played his last game in Brooklyn, maybe the NBA
@SheaGoodbye:
For better or worse, employers are associated with their employees (and vice versa).
When an employee does/says something stupid or hurtful (etc.), it reflects on the business by association.
And when the actions/words cause people to not buy goods/services — like tickets to basketball games, jerseys, etc. — or, perhaps more importantly, sponsors/advertisers to pull their funding, the employer IS paying the price for “something bad the employee has done on their own.”
Is that all fair? Eh, probably not. But it is the reality of how things work. I mean, if a popular fast food chain brought on, let’s say, O.J. Simpson as their new spokesperson (for clearly brilliant marketing reasons…), lots of people would stop eating there. Everyone? Well, not likely, but a substantial amount undoubtedly would. And that affects the chain’s profits, which is the whole reason businesses exist.
Our words and actions matter and have consequences. Full stop. Some people seem to either forget this or were never aware in the first place. Perhaps that’s because some of the consequences don’t affect them directly or in obvious ways. Like, did Kyrie himself suffer anything if his employer didn’t suspend him? Sure, people said things about him online. I suppose that’s kind of a consequence, but is it if he doesn’t care? Not really, right?
Anyhow, individuals have to be responsible. No one should be expected to be perfect, though. So when (not “if”) we mess up, like Kyrie did, we need to take ownership, apologize, face repercussions, make ammends, and improve our behavior going forward. If he had done that, the Nets MIGHT not have needed to suspend him. If they still did, I suppose that’s part of dealing with the repercussions.
Thank you for attending my TED Talk. (Seriously, sorry this was so long!)
Here is the sad truth. If he was scoring 30 per game and the team was winning, nothing would be done. Nets ‘bravery’ comes out of frustration with the won-lost record.
This is so long overdue and so late that Nets get 0 credit for doing the right thing.