After Kyrie Irving defended the promotion of antisemitic movies and books, several fans attended the game in Brooklyn at Barclays Center. They wore t-shirts that read “Fight Antisemitism” while sitting courtside.
The Nets guard recently posted a link to the film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” on his Twitter account.
Nets owner Joseph Tsai quickly reacted, noting that this film is based on a book “full of anti-semitic disinformation” and that Irving’s actions were hurtful. The NBA, the Nets, and Nike have since issued statements on the issue, condemning hate speech.
Irving, however, told reporters he is “not going to stand down” on anything that he believes in and that he has a “whole army” supporting him. He has since deleted the tweet, did not face any disciplinary action, and was back on the court for the Nets against the Pacers on Monday.
Mike Dube wore one of the shirts, per SNY’s Ian Begley.
Dube said his goal was to bring a “positive light” to this ugly situation. According to Dube, the Nets guard greeted the fans during a timeout and told them that he appreciated them.
Nets season-ticket holder Aaron Jungreis, however, told the New York Post that the gratitude felt sarcastic:
“I was expecting that. Look at who you’re dealing with. But [the shirt] was really not for him. It was really for the Nets. They should not keep a guy like that around,” Jungreis told The Post.
Asked if he’d cancel his season tickets, he replied “Oh, definitely. A lot of people are going to cancel, a lot of people.
“I think they have to discipline him in some way, and make it sincere for him hopefully, if it’s not sincere, I guess that’s the second best thing.”
Jungreis is not alone in his call for disciplinary action.
USA TODAY’s Dan Wolken also explained why the NBA should administer consequences for the Brooklyn guard. Andscape’s Jesse Washington and The Athletic’s Eric Koreen have also written about holding Irving accountable.
Irving has tweeted that the “anti-Semitic label” that is getting pushed on him is not justified. He was not available to the media following the game against the Pacers.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5x3v4hcz7e10g image=https://ftw.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[lawrence-related id=1965895,1882789,1843665,971756]
[listicle id=1954115]