Kyrie Irving and Brooklyn Nets Issue Joint Statement Condemning Antisemitism
Kyrie Irving's recent (and since deleted) social media post promoting a film that is loaded with antisemitic tropes and blatantly false statements inspired some passionate statements about how his actions are hateful, hurtful, and dehumanizing. Initially, neither the Nets nor the NBA took any action other than issuing meaningless statements that did not even mention Irving by name.
Tonight, Irving and the Nets each pledged to contribute $500,000 to organizations fighting hatred, and Irving and the Nets issued a joint statement with the Anti-Defamation League. Here is Irving's portion of the statement: "I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day. I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility. I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles. I am a human being learning from all walks of life and I intend to do so with an open mind and a willingness to listen. So from my family and I, we meant no harm to any one group, race or religion of people, and wish to only be a beacon of truth and light."
What should we make of this statement? Just imagine that an NBA player tweeted out a link to a film that claims that slavery never happened, that Black people worship Satan, and that Black people are responsible for the suffering of white people, who are actually the original and true Black people. If, several days after receiving backlash for promoting such vile falsehoods, that NBA player declared that he did not believe that everything in the film is true would you accept that as a sufficient response? Or would you wonder which of the asserted lies he believes to be true?
In light of the defiantly ignorant tone that Irving took in a press conference on Saturday, I am a little surprised that Irving said "I take responsibility," but one can surmise that he may have been presented the option of backing off to some extent or being fined an amount greater than $500,000.
The NBA does not have the moral fortitude to suspend Irving, because that would cost the league too much money and create too much controversy. Irving has more social media followers than the total Jewish population of the world, so the math here is not complicated: for the NBA, if it does not make dollars then it does not make sense.
The league also understands that it would lose credibility if it just completely ignored what Irving did. So, the most expedient solution for all parties is to issue a statement, donate $1 million to charity, and pretend the whole thing did not happen. Remember that the Nets franchise has an estimated worth of $3.5 billion, and Irving's career NBA earnings approach $200 million (not including this season, and not including his many endorsement deals), so $500,000 each is little more than pocket change found in between the couch cushions; I don't mean to diminish the real good that this money can do if properly allocated, but the point is that Irving disseminated hatred to millions of people and is essentially paying pennies per person for each follower who saw the post and understood Irving to be promoting Holocaust denial plus a host of bizarre and unfounded conspiracies.
I hope that Irving is sincerely repentant, that he will amend his hateful worldview, and that he will be a source of light instead of being a source of darkness--but forgive me if I remain skeptical until I see a pattern of deeds matching (and exceeding) the words in the above statement.
Labels: antisemitism, Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving, NBA
posted by David Friedman @ 11:15 PM
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