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Kyrie Irving Suspended Over Anti-Semitic Posts
US basketball star Kyrie Irving has apologised after he was suspended by his club, the Brooklyn Nets, amid allegations of anti-Semitism.
The star received a five-game ban after he defended his decision to post a link to a documentary that has been criticised as anti-Semitic on Twitter.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Irving said he was "deeply sorry" for the "hurt and pain" he had caused.
"I am learning from this unfortunate event," he added.
The seven-time NBA All-Star was roundly condemned last week - including by Nets owner Joe Tsai and the National Basketball Association (NBA) - after he linked to a 2018 film widely condemned as being grossly anti-Semitic.
On Wednesday, in response to the outcry, Irving and the Nets said the 30-year-old took "responsibility" for the "negative impact" his post had towards the Jewish community and he has since deleted the original tweet.
The club and Irving said they would work with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a non-profit organisation that fights all forms of anti-Semitism and bias, to develop education in the community and pledged that each will donate $500,000 (£440,000) towards causes and organisations "that work to eradicate hate and intolerance".
But when asked during a news event on Thursday whether he held any anti-Semitic beliefs, Irving refused to expressly condemn the film and its message. Instead, he told told reporters: "I respect all walks of life. I embrace all walks of life. That's where I sit."
When pressed to provide a direct answer, Irving simply replied that he could not "be anti-Semitic if I know where I come from".
Hours later, the club issued a strongly worded statement, banning Irving and saying they were "dismayed" that the player "refused to unequivocally say he has no anti-Semitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film".
"Such failure to disavow anti-Semitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organisation, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team," the statement added. "Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets."
They added that he would be suspended until he completed some unspecified "remedial measures" and would miss at least five games.
In his statement on Thursday night, Irving said he had "reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labelled anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary".
"I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate," he added.
In light of Irving's backtracking, the Anti-Defamation league said it could not "in good conscience accept" Irving's donation, and said it was clear that "Kyrie feels no accountability for his actions".
Irving did find some allies online, with rapper Kanye West - recently reinstated to Twitter after being banned for his own use of anti-Semitic rhetoric - posting several messages of support on the site.
It isn't the first time Irving has courted controversy in recent years. He played just 29 of the Nets 82 regular season games for the 2021-22 season after refusing to take a Covid-19 vaccine.
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Kyrie Irving Says Anta Collabs With Klay Thompson Are Coming
This upcoming season marks the first time that NBA champions Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson will be teammates on the Dallas Mavericks, but also teammates as Anta signature athletes.
During the Mavericks' 2024 Media Day interview, reporter Chris Henderson asked Irving about being teammates with his fellow Anta athlete Thompson, where he quickly confirmed it will be competitive as far as who will have the better player-exclusive styles on-court, but he also hinted at possible Anta collabs with each other.
"To answer your second question with Klay, of course, there's going to be competition. There was competition with my dad with the signature series," Irving said. "Me and Klay have had short conversations about Anta but not deep conversations. I think you'll see more collaborations from us. I think you'll see more apparel collaborations from us. It's just another opportunity for us to build."
Thompson has been an Anta signature athlete since 2015 and is expected to introduce his 10th signature model, the KT X, later this fall. Irving's first signature shoe with Anta, the Kai 1, debuted this spring.
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Kyrie Irving: Why His Tweets Have Got Him In Trouble
Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving is a talented but outspoken basketball star
NBA all-star Kyrie Irving is regarded as one of basketball's most talented stars.
But the Brooklyn Nets player has a habit of getting as much attention for his off-court comments as for his displays of skill.
The 30-year-old previously attracted criticism - and missed six months of games - when he chose not to get a Covid-19 vaccination.
And Kyrie's been back in the headlines again in a row over anti-Semitism.
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Like many celebrities and sports stars, Kyrie Irving has a huge social media following - more than 17 million on Instagram and about 4.5 million on Twitter.
It was a tweet that got him into trouble.
He shared a link to a documentary containing material described as anti-Semitic, meaning that it was hostile to Jewish people.
The NBA and Brooklyn Nets boss Joe Tsai were among many who criticised Kyrie.
He eventually deleted the tweet, and promised with his team to make a joint $1m donation to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) - a US charity set up to combat hate speech.
But that wasn't the end of it.
'Unfit to be associated'
At a news conference after the tweet was posted, Kyrie failed to apologise for his actions and to strongly deny holding anti-Semitic beliefs.
After this, the Nets slapped him with a five-game ban, and said he was "currently unfit to be associated" with the team.
In response, the ADL said it was rejecting his donation because it believed he "feels no accountability for his actions".
Kyrie then put out a longer apology, appearing to backtrack on his previous remarks.
He's since had a meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver over the issue.
According to the New York Times Mr Silver, who is Jewish, said he did not believe Kyrie was anti-Semitic following a long conversation.
But he agreed his posts had been damaging, the paper said.
Mr Silver also said the NBA and the Nets were in talks over when Kyrie would be able to return to the court.
Why are people so upset?
There have been rising reports of attacks against Jewish people in America, according to some organisations
According to some sources, anti-Semitism is on the rise.
One report from Israel's Tel Aviv University, published this April, suggested recorded incidents in the US had doubled on the previous year.
It said social media was partly to blame for "spreading lies" and inspiring people to attack Jews.
There are concerns from groups like the ADL that high-profile people sharing information containing "fringe beliefs" can cause it to spread more widely
A Guardian report said the documentary Kyrie linked to had shot to the top of Amazon's charts after he posted.
'I will play in the NBA'
Kyrie Irving caught the eye of talent scouts as a Duke University college basketball player
After the trip, when he was about nine years old, he says he took a piece of paper and wrote: "I will play in the NBA, I promise".
Kyrie played college basketball for Duke University and was then snapped up by NBA team Cleveland Cavaliers, being named Rookie of the Year in his first season.
He teamed up with basketball legend LeBron James to win an NBA Championship title in 2016 - giving Cleveland its first sports trophy in more than 50 years.
During his career, Kyrie has been an activist, donated to various organisations and been a vice-president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).
Kyrie Irving career highlights
Vaccine row
Kyrie Irving and Lebron James led the Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA Championship
Kyrie was one of the most high-profile "vaccine holdouts" - players who refused to get jabbed - at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said he was "not an advocate for either side" and was just doing what he thought was best for his health.
But he was unable to play home games until March due to New York's ban on unvaccinated people at indoor venues.
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