In a statement that he put out on Friday night, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets, Joe Tsai, condemned the decision that player Kyrie Irving made to utilise his social media accounts to promote an anti-Semitic movie and book.
Tsai wrote, “I’m unhappy that Kyrie seems to promote a movie that’s based on a book full of false antisemitic facts. I want to sit him down and explain that, as a man of faith, promoting hatred based on race, nationality, or religion is wrong and detrimental to all of us. I want to sit him down and explain that, as a man of faith, promoting hatred based on race, nationality, or religion is wrong and detrimental to all of us.
Irving said in a tweet on Saturday that he is not anti-Semitic and that he did not mean to hurt any religion in any way. In a statement released late Saturday night, the NBA voiced its opposition to hate speech.
We all, including those in the NBA community, “believe we have a role to play in ensuring that such words or ideas, including antisemitic ones, are challenged and refuted,” the statement continued.
Nets News: Any Form of Hate Speech Is Abhorrent and Goes Against Its Principles of Respect, Equality, and Inclusion
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“We will continue working with all NBA community members to ensure that everyone understands the impact of their words and actions,” the statement concluded. The National Basketball Association (NBA) states that any form of hate speech is abhorrent and goes against its principles of respect, equality, and inclusion.
The film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which Irving helped fund, is “full of antisemitic tropes,” according to an article in Rolling Stone that came out on Friday.
On Thursday, Irving posted a link to the film’s Amazon page on his Twitter account. The film, which was released in 2018, was based on the novel of the same name, which was published in 2015.
On Friday, the Brooklyn Nets released a statement in which they said that they “strongly oppose and have no tolerance for the promotion of any sort of hate speech.” The statement continued by saying that “our first course of action in these circumstances, in our opinion, should be a frank conversation.” The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is one of the groups that has helped during this process, and we’d like to thank them.
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Irving took part in the team’s shootaround on Saturday and is set to chat with reporters after the game against the Indiana Pacers, but he has not commented on the decision to promote the book and movie yet. The game is slated to take place on Sunday.
A player for the Nets named Joe Harris stated that he was “not aware” of the controversy surrounding Irving. Harris described Irving’s demeanour during the walk-through on Saturday as “business as usual.”
Before the club’s home game on Saturday night against the Pacers, head coach Steve Nash indicated that he agrees with the organization’s attitude and that he does not believe the situation will distract the squad. He also stated that he believes the incident will not affect the team’s performance.
“The situation, in my opinion, does not have a substantial impact on our group at all.” “I believe that we have developed a certain tolerance for some of them,” Nash explained, “and I also believe that our guys aren’t really knowledgeable on the subject.” Because we have experienced so many different scenarios over the past two and a half years, Nash believes that we have developed this tolerance.
Kyrie will be able to share his thoughts with you when it is his turn to speak after the organisation has already taken a stance and articulated what they believe in a crystal clear statement. Therefore, if we get a chance to take a deep breath and obtain a deeper grasp of the specifics of this situation, then we will do so. Nevertheless, I believe that players are making an effort to concentrate on the game right now. “
