Kyrie Irving faced a firestorm of condemnation recently as he was accused of antisemitism. The Brooklyn Nets point guard shared a link to the film ‘Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America’ on Twitter. According to Rolling Stone magazine, the film contains anti-semitic tropes, and Irving’s tweet was perceived as a promotion of that film.
However, after being smothered in criticism for a few days, the seven-time All-Star finally deleted his tweet. Nick Friedell was the first one to report that Irving took this step. In fact, he is the same reporter the player went back and forth with during the Nets post-game presser.
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This significant step came after the Brooklyn Nets and team owner Joe Tsai vehemently opposed Irving’s tweet. The franchise declared in a statement to The Athletic that they “strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech”.
Kyrie Irving has deleted his tweet that included a link to the movie “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America”
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) October 31, 2022
While Joe Tsai expressed disappointment as Irving seemed to promote a film “based on a book full of antisemitic disinformation”. He added that this entire thing is bigger than basketball.
I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-semitic disinformation. 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.
— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) October 29, 2022
As he fell victim to fierce condemnation, Irving defended himself on Twitter, in an attempt to distance himself from the antisemitic accusations. The former NBA champion referred to himself as an Omnist, a person who seeks to understand all religions and gods. He further claimed that the antisemitic accusations leveled against him are unjustified.
Kyrie Irving responded to Joe Tsai's tweet from Friday that condemned his promotion of an antisemitic film and book on social media pic.twitter.com/hEcUjsxVVb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 29, 2022
It seemed that the player would not delete his tweet anytime soon, as he appeared unapologetic at the Nets’ post-game presser. However, after keeping the tweet up for much of Saturday and Sunday, he eventually deleted it.
Fans react to Kyrie Irving deleting his controversial tweet
Kyrie Irving stood his ground regarding the tweet in the Nets’ postgame presser. However, less than 24 hours after a heated exchange in the postgame presser, he finally deleted his tweet.
Irving has become entangled in the storm. He maintained that his tweet was not a promotion. However, Irving removed the contentious tweet, perhaps after rethinking it and the controversy it sparked.?As the Nets superstar deleted his tweet, several fans saw it as an opportunity to come after the point guard.
Here are some of the reactions to Irving deleting his controversial tweet from NBA Twitter:
You’re a cornball https://t.co/CEtANjXzLX
— Steff 🏁 (@steffbriggs2) October 31, 2022
Are people really defending Kyrie? Like the dude thinks the earth is FLAT – he should lose all credibility even to racists
— Dan Starzec (@dan_starzec) October 31, 2022
You are right Nick. It was indeed a promotion. When you got millions of followers, there's a responsibility that comes with such baggage. These celebrities can't tweet what they want!
— Kedar (@kedar2711) October 31, 2022
https://twitter.com/jchuck493/status/1586887818965442560
The Nets should waive him.
— M (@marsplx) October 31, 2022
https://twitter.com/CloneDaddy1/status/1586917713250844678
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https://twitter.com/LogicalDebating/status/1586905562851119104
Kyrie needs to do a lot more to make this right in my opinion. A good first step though https://t.co/b0QJz2K54X
— Brooklynsbeat (@brooklynsbeat) October 31, 2022
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What are your thoughts on Kyrie Irving’s actions? Let us know in the comments below.