The NBA released a vague statement in regard to Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving promoting an antisemitic film on social media.
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is once again in the spotlight following his social media activity. Earlier this year, he promoted a conspiracy theory by Alex Jones, who recently was ordered to pay $1 billion to the families of Sandy Hook Elementary massacre victims after he called the tragedy “a hoax.” This week, Irving promoted an antisemitic film on his Twitter account, a tweet that has yet to be deleted.
On Friday, the Nets and their owner Joe Tsai released statements condemning Irving for promoting the antisemitic film.
The NBA released a statement on Saturday, which has since been deleted, that was rather vague and made no mention of Irving. That, and they misspelled “antisemitic.”
NBA releases statement condemning Kyrie Irving, but without mentioning him by name
“Hate speech of any kind is unacceptable and runs counter to the NBA’s values of equality, inclusion, and respect,” the statement read. “We believe we all have a role to play in ensuring such words or ideas, including [antisemitic] ones, are challenged and refuted and we will continue to working with all members of the NBA community to ensure that everyone understands the impact of their own words and actions.”
The NBA public relations account released a new statement that corrected the spelling error.
Shortly after Tsai’s statement, Irving responded in a tweet of his own, saying that he “meant no disrespect to anyone’s religious beliefs.” But, Irving said in that same tweet that “the ‘Antisemitic’ label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday.”
Irving promoting the film comes following the aftermath of rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, went on multiple antisemitic rants. As a result, he lost partnerships with Adidas, Balenciaga, Creative Arts Agency, and more. Not only that, but his Donda Sports marketing agency lost clients in Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams and Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics.
The Nets are scheduled to play the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, Oct. 29, where Irving is scheduled to play.