A group of fans sat courtside at a Nets Pacers game in Brooklyn on Monday, wearing T-shirts that read “Fight Anti-Semitism.” The men in the group wore yarmulkes, as is customary in some Jewish communities.
Display is a clear reaction to Netsgard Kyrie Irvingwho recently promoted an anti-Semitic movie on his Twitter account.
In his final meeting with media on Saturday, Irving stood by his tweet and fought off reporters when asked about it.
When asked by ESPN’s Nick Friedel why he promoted the film on social media, Irving replied, “You can post whatever you want.”
The Nets declined to show Irving to the media after Monday’s game. 116-109 Nets win.
Rolling Stone magazine reported The film Irving shared promotes tropes and “thoughts along the lines of more extreme factions of black Hebrew Israelis, who have a long history of misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and especially anti-Semitism.” To do.
Before Saturday’s press conference, Irving denied “the ‘anti-Semitic’ label being forced on me” in a separate Twitter post.
Irving posted the first Twitter link to the movie on Thursday. The tweet remained live from Saturday’s press conference through Sunday. by monday, Irving deleted itHis tweet drew condemnation from Nets owner Joseph Tsai and the NBA.
Tsai wrote on Twitter on Thursday that she was “disappointed that Kyrie appears to be supporting a film based on a book full of anti-Semitic misinformation.”
In a separate statement, the Nets said it “strongly condemns and does not tolerate the promotion of any form of hate speech.”
The NBA then issued a statement on Sunday, saying, “Hate speech of any kind is unacceptable and goes against the NBA’s values of equality, inclusion and respect.”
Irving published a tweet amid a backlash against Kanye West’s anti-Semitic messages, resulting in companies and individuals severing professional ties with the rapper. boston celtics Forward Jaylen Brown Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald West’s Donda Sports agency broke up After Adidas split from West and his Easy line of sneakers amid mounting public pressure.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is Jewish, co-sponsored a series of TV commercials with anti-Semitic messages. He called on viewers to “stand up to Jewish hatred.” The ad ran during an NFL game on Sunday.
