LeBron James tweeted on Thursday that he thinks Kyrie Irving should be playing for the Brooklyn Nets, not serving a suspension.
“I told you guys that I don’t believe in sharing hurtful information,” James tweeted. “And I’ll continue to be that way but Kyrie apologized and he should be able to play. That’s what I think. It’s that simple. Help him learn- but he should be playing. What he’s asked to do to get back on the floor I think is excessive IMO. He’s not the person that’s being portrayed of him. Anyways back to my rehab session.”
The Nets suspended Irving last Thursday for a minimum of five games. A week before that, Irving publicized a film full of antisemitic conspiracies, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” on Twitter and Instagram. Irving doubled down in a contentious post-game press conference on Oct. 30, then didn’t speak to the media again until Nov. 3, at which point he tripled down, refusing to apologize for the posts or fully disavow the contents of the film.
Hours after that second press conference, Brooklyn announced the suspension. Here is the full press release:
Over the last several days, we have made repeated attempts to work with Kyrie Irving to help him understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate. We believed that taking the path of education in this challenging situation would be the right one and thought that we had made progress with our joint commitment to eradicating hate and intolerance.
We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity – but failed – to clarify.
Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, we are of the view that he is…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-tweets-that-kyrie-irving-should-be-playing-calls-nets-return-to-play-requirements-excessive/
Author : James Herbert
Publish date : 2022-11-10 20:27:55
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