Former NBA player believes Kyrie Irving should have publicly apologized for his recent controversy: "Those voices, I believe, are gonna be just as steadfast if not louder"
Kyrie Irving has deleted the link to an antisemitic film on his Twitter account following the attention it garnered starting last week. But the firestorm hasn't died down.
Former NBA player Jalen Rose said he's bothered by the way the Brooklyn Nets and Irving have handled the situation. (That was before the Nets suspended Irving for at least five games without pay later Thursday.)
Irving appeared in front of the media on Thursday. Although he acknowledged his mistake, Irving didn't publicly apologize while he was with the media.
Apparently, that was the last straw for the Nets.
"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," the Brooklyn Nets' statement said. "Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets."
Statement from the Brooklyn Nets https://t.co/699px8XYpx
ESPN posted a video of Irving's media appearance. He did not apologize for the tweet.
"I take my responsibility for posting that," Irving said. "Some things that were questionable in there, untrue. Like I said in the first time you guys asked me when I was sitting on that stage, I don't believe everything that everybody posts."
Kyrie Irving stopped short of formally apologizing Thursday — the way many in both the Nets and NBA were hoping to hear — for his controversial social media post about a book and movie that feature antisemitic tropes.
More from @NickFriedell: es.pn/3h98h66 https://t.co/Ecj0jKs2qN
Following that, Jalen Rose voiced his concern about Irving not publicly apoligizing for his actions. In his show, "Jalen & Jacoby," Rose said that the situation in Brooklyn continues to bother him.
"The reality of this is, even though (Boston Celtics coach) Ime Udoka was suspended for the year, and the Nets may get some bad PR for his hire," Rose said. "Ultimately, they've shown us they're trying to do one thing, and that's win at all cost."
"In this case, they're showing, 'We need to do what we can to make this go away. So, let's throw some money at it.' Those voices, I believe, are gonna be just as steadfast if not louder."
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the Nets organization and Kyrie Irving stated that both parties will donate $500,000 to anti-hate causes.
The Nets, Kyrie Irving and the Anti-Defamation League announce that Kyrie and the team will each donate $500K “toward causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities.” https://t.co/WqqaCUntLM
The Nets will play against the Washington Wizards on Friday without their star point guard.
The Brooklyn Nets have announced the suspension of Kyrie Irving
It seems as though the Nets organization has had enough of Kyrie Irving's antics. With all the drama that has been linked to the franchise, the events that surround Irving lately have added more problems than solutions. This includes their 2-6 start to the season, resulting in the firing of Steve Nash on Tuesday.
Brooklyn has suspended Irving for at least five games without pay.
"We are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets." the Nets organization stated.
Nets statement on Kyrie Irving: “We are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets. We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures…” https://t.co/Mp682Sck23
This all happened after he tweeted a link to movie that had problematic takes on the Jewish community. While Irving admitted to watching the film, he denied promoting it. During a back-and-forth interview with ESPN's Nick Friedell over the weekend, the 2016 champion felt attacked and stormed off.
Nets owner Joe Tsai brought up the topic of Irving promoting the troublesome film.