(New York) Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving said on Saturday that he wanted to apologize for promoting a film with anti-Semitic ideas on social media, saying: “I am not anti-Semitic”.
In an exclusive interview with SportsNet New York (SNY) published Saturday, Irving for the first time directly commented on the matter.
On October 27, Irving – already known for having relayed conspiracy theories – had published on his Instagram and Twitter accounts the poster of Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America and links to the Amazon site to rent or buy this film containing, among other things, a quote attributed to Adolf Hitler and denying the reality of the Holocaust.
I really just want to focus on the harm I’ve done or the impact I’ve caused within the Jewish community, by posting some sort of threats or supposed threats, against the Jewish community .
Kyrie Irving
“I just want to sincerely apologize for everything I have done since this publication was released,” he said, adding that he had had time to think.
The former Cleveland player was sanctioned by the Nets who suspended him for at least five games, without receiving salary, and ended up apologizing after finally going eight games without playing.
The equipment supplier Nike had also suspended its relationship with the NBA star by canceling the release of a shoe in his name scheduled for November.
The player explained that he felt a form of disrespect towards him in the face of accusations of anti-Semitism and that he then reacted defensively.
“I know that I could have handled all of this much better,” he admitted in this interview. “I should have answered the questions and moved on,” he explained.
“I am not an anti-Semite, I never have been,” he said again. “I have no hatred in my heart for Jews or anyone who identifies as Jewish. I am not anti-Jew,” he added.
The Nets asked the player to contact the Jewish community to better understand the scope of the messages he posted on social networks. Irving called these discussions moving and important, saying he learned a lot.
“It hasn’t been easy, some (discussions) have been painful […]but it gave me a better perspective,” the player explained.