Kyrie Irving pledged to donate $500,000 to fight antisemitism and issued a joint statement with the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish Organization, after apologizing for retweeting a link to a film filled with what the media called anti-Semitic rhetoric.
“I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day,” Irving said in a statement. “I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility. I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles.”
Irving has also retweeted Alex Jones, an action he defended at a press conference where he said Jones was right about the New World Order — a label the media also says is connected with anti-Semitism.
The news of Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving sharing an ‘antisemitic’ video from Amazon Prime on his Instagram account has marinated for about a week now. The video is alleged to show some offensive Jewish stereotypes, such as Jewish worship of Satan. Jews may not worship Satan outright, but Talmudic Jews reject and believe some very nasty things about Jesus Christ. Additionally, Irving posted the video link without comment, meaning he did not necessarily endorse the video that is available for everyone on Amazon. Regardless, the media deemed Irving’s social media post as unacceptable and began a near Kanye-level uproar.
It is uncertain if Irving became emboldened to speak his truth based on Ye’s recent actions, but up until recently, Irving has remained steadfast in his defense of the post and his thought process behind sharing it. Irving has received the usual criticism from the media and different organizations. A Jewish activist group recently purchased court-side seats to his game in matching t-shirts to show their solidarity and strength against alleged antisemitism.
In addition to activism circuses, NBA acolytes have turned up the heat regarding attempts to cancel Irving. Just last night, the infamous Charles Barkley suggested that the Jewish commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, suspend and fine Kyrie Irving for his social media post. Barkley is the first major NBA personality to recommend harsh disciplinary action for Irving. The powers that be must not yet be satisfied with the current level of demonization of Kyrie, so the temperature has definitely been turned up. It remains to be seen if any real punishment or cancellation will be levied upon Irving, but the machine has certainly revved up in recent days.
About a year ago, a white NBA player named Meyers Leonard shouted “k*ke” on one of his Call of Duty live streams. He was quickly fined $50,000 and banished from the Miami Heat. Leonard remains without a team today as he recovers from an injury. Truthfully, I’m unsure how particularly relevant this case is to Irving’s, but it’s worth discussing due to some obvious similarities.
Leonard said a word on a live stream and received his punishment in a couple of days at most. Kyrie Irving, on the other hand, is still fighting for his career but is nonetheless surviving against the onslaught of media pressure for now.
It is possible that Irving has stayed afloat for as long as he has due to his status in the league. Irving is in the middle of the $40 million dollar per year contract and is a star. Perhaps the NBA is hesitant to act because Irving is a prominent black man, but Irving’s impact on the bottom line is likely a factor as well. If Irving was less influential and white, this probably would have been litigated within 48 hours and that would have been the end of it. Irving has a shoe deal with Nike, plays for one of the biggest markets in the league, and is universally recognized as a star athlete.
Regardless of Irving’s current situation, I have some personal thoughts about the guy. To me, he’s basically just Tariq Nasheed with a killer crossover. He even bought the Floyd family a new house after big George died of a fentanyl overdose.
We’re in a real David versus Goliath situation here; just make sure you understand that the people screaming that they are David are lying.
