Nets owner condemns Kyrie Irving for promoting film and book with 'antisemitic disinformation'
Nets guard Kyrie Irving looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Barclays Center on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Nets owner Joe Tsai issued a statement via Twitter late Friday night condemning Kyrie Irving for promoting a film and book that is widely regarded to be antisemitic on his Twitter and Instagram.
“I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of antisemitic disinformation," Tsai tweeted at 11:19 p.m. Friday. "I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion.”
Shortly before Thursday’s loss to Dallas, Irving tweeted a link out to an Amazon page for the 2018 film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake up Black America.'' The tweet was first noted by Rolling Stone magazine, which published an article noting that the movie is “stuffed with antisemitic tropes.” As of 12:30 Saturday morning, the tweet still remained on his account.
The Nets also released a statement on the matter.
“The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech," the team said in a statement on Friday. "We believe that in these situations, our first action must be open, honest dialogue. We thank those, including the ADL [Anti-Defamation League], who have been supportive during this time."
Irving, who will be at Barclays Center to play the Pacers on Saturday, has not commented publicly on the matter. He was not made available to media personnel at Saturday morning's team shootaround.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
