Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving came under fire recently after he tweeted a link to an Amazon documentary “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.”
The film, based on a book of the same name, is reportedly “stuffed with antisemitic tropes,” according to Rolling Stone. Facing backlash, it led to a heated back-and-forth between Irving and ESPN reporter Nick Friedell over taking responsibility for sharing it on his platform.
Nets owner Joe Tsai released a statement on Oct. 28, saying that he was “disappointed” in Irving’s apparent support for a “book full of antisemitic disinformation,” followed by the NBA which issued a statement, saying that “hate speech of any kind is unacceptable and runs counter to the NBA’s values of equality, inclusion and respect.”
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Despite the condemnation of Irving’s post, no disciplinary action was taken against the seven-time All-Star by either the Nets or the league, a decision Charles Barkley says was wrong.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup between the Nets and Bulls on TNT, Barkley said suspending Irving was the only option.
“I think he should have been suspended. I think Adam [Silver] should have suspended him,” Barkley said.
“First of all, Adam’s Jewish. You can’t take my $40 million dollars and insult my religion. If you’re going to insult me, you have the right, but I have the right to say ‘no, you’re not going to take my $40 million dollars and insult my religion.’
“I think he should have been suspended.”
Chuck reacts to Kyrie Irving’s social media posts promoting an antisemitic film pic.twitter.com/IOLVVrSv0l
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 1, 2022
“I think the NBA made a mistake. We have suspended people and fined people who have made homophobic slurs – and that was the right thing to do. I think if you insult the Black community, you should be suspended or fined heavily, depending. I saw they did the same thing to the kid in Minnesota this year [Anthony Edwards] when he made the gay slur. I think you should get suspended or fined.”
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On Monday night, following Irving’s first game since sharing the tweet, a group of fans sat courtside wearing shirts that read “Fight Antisemitism.”
Irving did not speak with media postgame and won’t be available after tonight’s contest against the Bulls, a decision Nets GM Sean Marks said was in the interests of avoiding any additional “fuss.”
Courtside at the Nets game
(h/t @Alec_Sturm ) pic.twitter.com/4UKj4iFteY
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) November 1, 2022
On Saturday, Irving addressed the post during his press conference following their loss to the Pacers, defending his decision to share the link.
“I’m not here to argue over a person or a culture or a religion or what they believe,” Irving said. “Nah, this is what’s here. It’s on a public platform. Did I do anything illegal? Did I hurt anybody? Did I harm anybody? Am I going out and saying that I hate one specific group of people?
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“So, out of all of the judgment that people got for me posting, without talking to me, and then I respect what Joe said, but there has a lot to do with not ego or pride of how proud I am to be [of] African heritage, but also to be living as a free Black man here in America, knowing the historical complexities for me to get here.
“So, I’m not going to stand down on anything that I believe in. I’m only going to get stronger because I’m not alone. I have a whole army around me.”
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