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Kyrie Irving Apologizes Hours After Nets Suspend Him For “Failure To Disavow Anti-Semitism”

<p><strong>Kyrie Irving <&sol;strong>won&&num;8217&semi;t be touching the court against the Washington Wizards tonight&excl; And that&&num;8217&semi;ll be in effect for the next four games after&period; On Thursday&comma; the <strong>Brooklyn Nets<&sol;strong> <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;espn&period;com&sol;nba&sol;story&sol;&lowbar;&sol;id&sol;34942326&sol;nets-suspend-kyrie-irving-least-five-games-pay" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">suspended the player<&sol;a> without pay after his continued efforts to reject Anti-Semitic beliefs&comma; per <em>ESPN&period; <&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Hours later&comma; he took accountability and apologized on his Instagram&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote><p>&&num;8220&semi;To all Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post&comma; I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain&comma; and I apologize&period; I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic&comma; instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the documentary&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Kyrie wrote&period;<&sol;p><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>The backlash began last week after he shared a link to the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;imdb&period;com&sol;video&sol;vi4246125081&sol;&quest;ref&lowbar;&equals;ext&lowbar;shr&lowbar;lnk" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">2018 film<&sol;a> <em>&&num;8220&semi;Hebrews to Negroes&colon; Wake Up Black America&comma;&&num;8221&semi; <&sol;em>which civil rights groups have <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;cnn&period;com&sol;2022&sol;11&sol;04&sol;sport&sol;kyrie-irving-suspended-brooklyn-nets-antisemitism-friday-spt&sol;index&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">dubbed anti-semitic<&sol;a>&comma; per <em>CNN&period; <&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He opened his statement by addressing the link he shared and how he plans to move forward&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote><p>&&num;8220&semi;While doing research on YHWH&comma; I posted a Documentary that contained some false anti-Semitic statements&comma; narratives&comma; and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race&sol;Religion&comma; and I take full accountability and responsibly for my actions&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Kyrie wrote&period; &&num;8220&semi;I am grateful to have a big platform to share knowledge and I want to move forward by having an open dialogue to learn more and grow from this&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<h5 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><strong>A Face-Off With Media Led To The Five-Game Suspension<&sol;strong><&sol;h5>&NewLine;<p>The <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;dev&period;theshaderoom&period;com&sol;kyrie-irving-to-critics-of-his-choice-to-not-get-vaccinated-they-will-never-say-it-to-my-face-video&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">Nets deemed Kyrie<&sol;a> <em>&&num;8220&semi;currently unfit to be associated&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;em> with their organization following a tense media session early Thursday&period; During the session&comma; Kyrie took responsibility for posting the link he says had <em>&&num;8220&semi;questionable&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;em> and <em>&&num;8220&semi;untrue&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;em> things&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A reporter asked Kyrie if saying he <em>&&num;8220&semi;meant no harm&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;em> was his version of apologizing&period; Before the media session&comma; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was disappointed Kyrie <em>&&num;8220&semi;has not offered an unqualified apology&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;em> and denounced the film&&num;8217&semi;s <em>&&num;8220&semi;vile and harmful content&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote><p>&&num;8220&semi;I didn&&num;8217&semi;t mean to cause any harm&comma; I&&num;8217&semi;m not the one that made the documentary&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Kyrie responded&period;<&sol;p><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>Later in the session&comma; Irving redirected a question about whether he has anti-Semitic beliefs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote><p>&&num;8220&semi;Again&comma; I&&num;8217&semi;m going to repeat&comma; I don&&num;8217&semi;t how the label becomes justified because you guys ask me the same questions over and over again&comma; but this is not going to turn into a spin around cycle of questions among questions&comma; I told you guys how I felt&period; I respect all walks of life and embrace all walks of life&period; That&&num;8217&semi;s where I sit&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Kyrie responded&period;<&sol;p><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<blockquote class&equals;"instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;instagram&period;com&sol;p&sol;Ckg83kqvlLy&sol;&quest;utm&lowbar;source&equals;ig&lowbar;embed&&num;038&semi;utm&lowbar;campaign&equals;loading" data-instgrm-version&equals;"14" style&equals;" background&colon;&num;FFF&semi; max-width&colon;658px&semi; min-width&colon;326px&semi; padding&colon;0&semi; width&colon;99&period;375&percnt;&semi; width&colon;-webkit-calc&lpar;100&percnt; - 2px&rpar;&semi; width&colon;calc&lpar;100&percnt; - 2px&rpar;&semi;"><div>&NewLine; <iframe class&equals;"custom-ig-embed" data-src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;instagram&period;com&sol;p&sol;Ckg83kqvlLy&sol;embed&sol;captioned" allowtransparency&equals;"true" allowfullscreen&equals;"true" frameborder&equals;"0" height&equals;"640px" scrolling&equals;"no" style&equals;"background&colon;&num;FFF&semi; border&colon;0&semi; border-radius&colon;3px&semi; box-shadow&colon;0 0 1px 0 rgba&lpar;0&comma;0&comma;0&comma;0&period;5&rpar;&comma;0 1px 10px 0 rgba&lpar;0&comma;0&comma;0&comma;0&period;15&rpar;&semi; margin&colon; 1px&semi; max-width&colon;540px&semi; min-width&colon;326px&semi; padding&colon;0&semi; width&colon;99&period;375&percnt;&semi; width&colon;-webkit-calc&lpar;100&percnt; - 2px&rpar;&semi; width&colon;calc&lpar;100&percnt; - 2px&rpar;&semi;"><&sol;iframe>&NewLine; <&sol;div><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>The team was unimpressed by the player&&num;8217&semi;s statements in the session&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote><p>&&num;8220&semi;We were dismayed today when given an opportunity in a media session&comma; that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film&comma;&&num;8221&semi; the Nets said <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;Phil&lowbar;Lewis&lowbar;&sol;status&sol;1588317643877994496&quest;s&equals;20&amp&semi;t&equals;NHf3-HkBZ&lowbar;OkPXupmiunMw" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">in their statement<&sol;a>&period; &&num;8220&semi;This was not the first time he had the opportunity&comma; but failed&comma; to clarify&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>The Nets added that Kyrie&&num;8217&semi;s refusal to disavow antisemitism &&num;8220&semi;<em>is deeply disturbing&comma; is against the values of &lbrack;their&rsqb; organization&comma; and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team&period;&&num;8221&semi; <&sol;em>Irving had already pledged to match the team&&num;8217&semi;s &dollar;500&comma;000 donation to organizations fighting against hate&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote class&equals;"instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;instagram&period;com&sol;p&sol;Cker9zEp0w4&sol;&quest;utm&lowbar;source&equals;ig&lowbar;embed&&num;038&semi;utm&lowbar;campaign&equals;loading" data-instgrm-version&equals;"14" style&equals;" background&colon;&num;FFF&semi; max-width&colon;658px&semi; min-width&colon;326px&semi; padding&colon;0&semi; width&colon;99&period;375&percnt;&semi; width&colon;-webkit-calc&lpar;100&percnt; - 2px&rpar;&semi; width&colon;calc&lpar;100&percnt; - 2px&rpar;&semi;"><div>&NewLine; <iframe class&equals;"custom-ig-embed" data-src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;instagram&period;com&sol;p&sol;Cker9zEp0w4&sol;embed&sol;captioned" allowtransparency&equals;"true" allowfullscreen&equals;"true" frameborder&equals;"0" height&equals;"640px" scrolling&equals;"no" style&equals;"background&colon;&num;FFF&semi; border&colon;0&semi; border-radius&colon;3px&semi; box-shadow&colon;0 0 1px 0 rgba&lpar;0&comma;0&comma;0&comma;0&period;5&rpar;&comma;0 1px 10px 0 rgba&lpar;0&comma;0&comma;0&comma;0&period;15&rpar;&semi; margin&colon; 1px&semi; max-width&colon;540px&semi; min-width&colon;326px&semi; padding&colon;0&semi; width&colon;99&period;375&percnt;&semi; width&colon;-webkit-calc&lpar;100&percnt; - 2px&rpar;&semi; width&colon;calc&lpar;100&percnt; - 2px&rpar;&semi;"><&sol;iframe>&NewLine; <&sol;div><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>But as a result of the media session&comma; Kyrie will sit out the next five games&period; And the team says the suspension will last until Irving <em>&&num;8220&semi;satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct&period;&&num;8221&semi; <&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h5 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><strong>Irving Says He Had No Intention To &&num;8220&semi;Perpetuate Hate&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;strong><&sol;h5>&NewLine;<p>In his statement&comma; Kyrie again attempted to clarify where he stands on the documentary&&num;8217&semi;s anti-Semitic rhetoric&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote><p>&&num;8220&semi;I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against antisemitism 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&comma;&&num;8221&semi; Kyrie said&period; &&num;8220&semi;I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate&period; I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all&period; I am no different than any other human being&period; I am a seeker of truth and knowledge&comma; and I know who I am&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine; <div class&equals;"wpra-reactions-wrap wpra-plugin-container" style&equals;"justify-content&colon; center&semi;&semi;"> <div class&equals;"wpra-reactions-container" data-ver&equals;"1&period;3&period;10" data-post&lowbar;id&equals;"101489" data-show&lowbar;count&equals;"true" data-enable&lowbar;share&equals;"onclick" data-behavior&equals;"regular" data-animation&equals;"true" data-share&lowbar;url&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;dev&period;theshaderoom&period;com&sol;kyrie-irving-apologizes-hours-after-nets-suspend-him-for-failure-to-disavow-anti-semitism&sol;" data-secure&equals;"1498eb43b2"> <div class&equals;"wpra-call-to-action" style&equals;"color&colon; 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Cassandra S

I like to tell stories, pretend I'm funny and experience everything so I can tell more stories. I love the truth and I'm great at verifying it.

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