Getty Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets.
In the wake of Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving’s decision to share the link to the 2018 film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which features anti-Semitic tropes, the organization has decided to suspend their star point guard for a minimum of five games without pay, they announced on November 3.
“Such failure to disavow antisemitism 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,” the Nets said in a statement.
Statement from the Brooklyn Nets
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Kevin Durant Breaks Silence on Kyrie Irving Suspension
Kyrie will be the latest name on the Nets’ long list of inactive players. Ben Simmons will be out for at least the next two games when the Nets take on the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets with knee soreness. And TJ Warren and Seth Curry have yet to make their season debuts. With Irving now scheduled to miss a minimum of five games and the Nets having an abysmal record of 2-6, the Nets’ season could crumble quickly.
With Kevin Durant again left to shoulder the load, he believes that Irving’s suspension in the wake of his controversial tweet is ‘unnecessary’.
“I’m not here to judge somebody or talk down on their life or how they feel their views. I just didn’t like anything that went on,” Durant told reporters on November 4, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
“I felt like it was all unnecessary. I felt like we could have just kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organization.”
Kevin Durant: “I’m not here to judge somebody or talk down on the life or how they feel their views. I just didn’t like anything that went on. I felt like it was all unnecessary. I felt like we could have just kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organization.” #nets
He further clarified his statement on Twitter:
Just wanna clarify the statements I made at shootaround, I see some people are confused..I don’t condone hate speech or anti-semetism, I’m about spreading love always. Our game Unites people and I wanna make sure that’s at the forefront
Kyrie Gave Joe Tsai Cold Shoulder
Although sharing the link to the video was what landed the Nets star in hot water, it was not the ultimate reason for his suspension. That can be attributed, to his failure to apologize to the Jewish community, despite having several opportunities.
According to ESPN insiders, Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski, Nets owner Joe Tsai wanted to allow Irving to rectify the situation himself. However, he was given the cold shoulder when a multitude of texts that he sent to the Nets star went unanswered.
“As it turned out, the redemptive arc that Tsai had imagined for his star had devolved into what the owner felt was a repetitive exercise in Irving’s betrayal of good faith, sources said.
For nearly a week, Tsai kept extending the clock to give Irving a chance to get this right for himself, the franchise, and the Jewish community — and Irving never returned a single of his text messages, sources said,” Wojnarowski and Shelburne write per ESPN.
“Almost a week later, Irving had shown no inclination to deliver an apology, nor a disassociation of the movie’s contents, nor a willingness to answer “No” when asked if he held anti-Semitic beliefs.”
ESPN: For nearly a week, Nets Owner joe Tsai kept extending the clock to give Kyrie Irving a chance to get this right for himself, the franchise and the Jewish community — and Irving never returned a single of his text messages, sources said.
After he and the Nets failed to agree on a max contract extension during the offseason, Kyrie will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. With a controversial start to the season just eight games in, a return to Brooklyn next fall seems unlikely.
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Kevin Durant Breaks Silence on Kyrie Irving Suspension