NBA, Nets silent after Kyrie Irving stands by his controversial social media post
Nets guard Kyrie Irving looks on in the second half of an NBA game at Barclays Center on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Kyrie Irving had plenty to say Saturday night. But after an explosive news conference in which the Nets guard reaffirmed both his decision to post a link to a movie rife with antisemitic tropes, along with his belief in the “New World Order” conspiracy theory, the NBA and the Nets did not.
The team and the league — both of whom previously issued statements broadly condemning antisemitic hate speech but did not name Irving — had no comment Sunday afternoon after Irving’s latest statements, in which he denied accusations of antisemitism but said the movie was part of his quest to “elevate my consciousness.”
It’s unclear whether Irving will face league or team discipline. Irving took down the original tweet sending out a link to the documentary around 10 p.m. Sunday.
Nets owner Joe Tsai publicly denounced Irving’s actions by name Friday, calling them wrong and hurtful. Irving on Saturday said he respects Tsai but that the decision to post an Amazon link to the documentary actually was centered around his pride in being African.
The movie, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake up Black America,” identifies Blacks as God’s chosen people and also posits that Jews are central to anti-Black racism. The nearly four-hour documentary is based on a 2015 book that, according to a Rolling Stone write-up, pushes the idea of a secret Jewish cabal that controls the world’s governments and asks if Jews worship the devil.
Irving railed against the idea that he was promoting something by posting it, but added that “I’m in a unique position to have a level of influence on my community, and what I post does not mean that I support everything that’s being said.”
Irving obliquely touched on the subject in a tweet Sunday: “Mom, thank you for naming me KYRIE. I am grateful you hid me from the world long enough until I was ready to overstand [sic] who I AM. My roots and ancestors lead me back to AFRAKA and I am damn proud to overstand (of all) the KNOWLEDGE that was left behind for Application.”
Irving said he came by the movie by searching the meaning of his name, the origin of which appears in the Greek New Testament as “lord.”
Last month, Irving posted an old clip of InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in which Jones maintains the existence of a “New World Order” — or a shadow government that controls the world. Jones does not explicitly name Jewish people in the posted clip. The “New World Order” is a long-standing conspiracy theory with strong antisemitic ties, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
On Saturday, Irving said he does not support Jones, who recently received a nearly $1 billion verdict against him for falsely saying the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax. He has had prominent antisemites and white nationalists on his show, including known neo-Nazi Richard Spencer.
Irving stood by his decision to post the New World Order clip — a 2002 video in which Jones says this “tyrannical organization” planned to release plagues into the populace under a banner that read “Alex Jones tried to warn us.” Irving missed most of the 2021-22 season because of his refusal to be vaccinated.
“I do not stand by Alex Jones’ position, narrative, court case that he had with Sandy Hook or any of the kids that felt like they had to relive trauma or the parents that had to relive trauma or to be dismissive to all the lives that were lost during that tragic event,” he said Saturday.
“My post was a post that Alex Jones did in the early ’90s or late ’90s about secret societies in America and cults. And it’s true.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
