NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets suspended Kyrie Irving for at least five games without pay Thursday, dismayed by his repeated failure to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.”
Hours after Irving refused to issue the apology NBA commissioner Adam Silver sought for posting a link last week to an antisemitic work on his Twitter feed, the Nets said Irving is “currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.”
“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,” the Nets said in a statement.
“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 they made multiple attempts in recent days to help Irving understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, but it was clear during the point guard’s interview after practice earlier Thursday that little had changed.
Irving again refused to apologize, saying only that he meant no harm. He said some things in “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” were untrue, but he didn’t say he shouldn’t have posted a link to it.
“I’m not the one who made the documentary,” Irving said.
He was later asked whether he had antisemitic beliefs, and he didn’t say no.
“I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from,” Irving said.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt reacted to a video of Irving’s response to that question on Twitter by writing: “The answer to the question ‘Do you have any antisemitic beliefs’ is always “NO” without equivocation.
“We took @KyrieIrving at his word when he said he took responsibility, but today he did not make good on that promise,” Greenblatt added. “Kyrie clearly has a lot of work to do.”
A day earlier, Irving and the Nets had announced, in conjunction with the ADL, that each would be donating $500,000 to anti-hate causes.
After the Nets announced Irving’s suspension, Greenblatt tweeted: “We were optimistic but after watching the debacle of a press conference, it’s clear that Kyrie feels no accountability for his actions. @ADL cannot in good conscience accept his donation.”
Silver also called for…
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