NBA Players Association Issues Statement Condemning Antisemitism

The National Basketball Players Association released a statement Tuesday condemning antisemitism in the wake of Kyrie Irving’s doubling down on promoting the antisemitic film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America on his Twitter page. Irving is a vice president of the NBPA. 

“Anti-Semitism has no place in our society,” the statement read. “The NBPA is focused on creating an environment where everyone is accepted. We are committed to helping players fully understand that certain words can lead to hateful ideologies being spread. We will continue to work on identifying and combating all hate speech wherever it arises.”

According to Rolling Stone, the film, which is based on a 2015 book of the same name, is “stuffed with antisemitic tropes.” Irving doubled down on his tweet during a heated press conference Saturday, taking several jabs at reporters who asked questions about the tweet.

“Did I do anything illegal? Did I hurt anybody?” Irving asked reporters in regard to the tweet. “Did I harm anybody? Am I going out and saying that I hate one specific group of people?”

In a tweet defending himself, he said in part, “The ‘Anti-Semitic’ label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday.”

The Nets condemned his decision tweet about the film, and team owner Joe Tsai followed it up with a statement of his own, expressing his disappointment in Irving’s stance. He tweeted, in part, “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.”

The NBA also released a statement in wake of the matter, condemning hate speech, although it did not specifically name Irving. On Monday night during a game against the Pacers, a group of fans wearing “Fight Antisemitism” shirts and yarmulkes sat courtside. At one point, Irving acknowledged the group with a thumbs up.