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Irving has faced heavy criticism since posting a link on Twitter
last week to a 2018 commentary and defending the post over the
weekend. The seven-time All Star has since deleted the Twitter
post.
Posting on Instagram, he apologized to those "hurt from the
hateful remarks made in the documentary," and said he took full
responsibility for his decision to share the content with his
followers.
Irving said the film "contained some false anti-Semitic
statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and
offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion."
"I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting
against anti-Semitism by apologizing for posting the documentary
without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific
beliefs in the documentary I agreed with and disagreed with,"
Irving wrote.
Before he posted his apology, the Nets suspended Irving for at
least five games, saying that despite holding two news
conferences, he had refused to disavow anti-Semitism.
"We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media
session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no
anti-Semitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material
in the film," the Nets said in a statement announcing the
suspension.
The team did not immediately respond to Reuters request for
comment on Irving's apology. The Nets had said he would be
suspended no less than five games and until he undergoes a
series of unspecified "remedial measures."
FRAUGHT MOMENT
In his news conference earlier on Thursday, Irving said he had
meant no harm. He took responsibility for posting the link but
did not specifically denounce the film or its message, which
civil rights activists have called anti-Semitic.
In his Instagram apology, Irving said: "I initially reacted out
of emotion to being unjustly labeled anti-Semitic, instead of
focusing on the healing process of my Jewish brothers and
sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the
documentary."
The controversy comes at a fraught moment for Jews in the United
States. The FBI warned on Thursday there was a credible threat
to synagogues in New Jersey, a state that lies just across the
harbor from the New York City borough of Brooklyn, which has one
of the densest populations of Jews in the world.
Irving's suspension and apology follow a controversy generated
by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who was
suspended by social media platforms last month for posts that
online users condemned as anti-Semitic.
The Nets' next game is on Friday night against the Wizards in
Washington. If he serves a five-game suspension, Irving would be
available to play Nov. 13 against the Lakers in Los Angeles.
Irving issued a joint statement with the Nets and the
Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday, saying he opposed all forms
of hatred. He and the Nets said they would each donate $500,000
toward organizations that work to eradicate hate.
The National Basketball Association and union representing its
players have also issued statements condemning hate speech. The
union did not responded to a request for comment on Thursday
night.
"Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film
containing deeply offensive anti-Semitic material," NBA
Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement on Thursday.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto and Akriti Sharma in
Bengaluru; additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles,
Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Ken Ferris, Ed
Osmond and William Mallard)
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