Kyrie Irving has indirectly caused a huge stir in the NBA and it has now caused him a suspension.
After he posted a link to a movie/documentary that had antisemitic tropes, the perennial Allstar received a lot of criticism.
He has since had a back and forth with media kind of telling his side and eventually apologizing and deleting the tweet. He was still suspended for at least 5 games without pay and now the terms have been set for his return.
According to Sham Sharania, Kyrie must complete these 6 things in order to rejoin the Nets:
- Apologize/condemn movie
- $500K donation to anti-hate causes
- Sensitivity training
- Antisemitic training
- Meet with ADL, Jewish leaders
- Meet with Joe Tsai to demonstrate understanding
There are going to be a lot of people who hate this and a lot of people who love so it’s going to be interesting to see how this turns out and if Kyrie will do each of the things listed.
Here is more on Kyrie’s suspension.
General manager Sean Marks, who traveled with the team for the Friday game against the Washington Wizards, said the Nets never considered waiving Irving in the wake of this latest controversy.
“No,” Marks said. “Not at this point in time.”
Marks said that while the apology on Instagram was a good first step, Irving will need to take more steps, including “counseling designated by the team” as well as meeting with Jewish leaders within the Brooklyn community, before being able to play for the Nets again.
“I think after anything like this, you would always hope that there’s a change,” Marks said. “There’s a change in feelings, a change in attitude, I think, per his apology, that’s a step in the right direction. But as we’ve sort of stated, actions speak louder than words. And so he’s had some time and there will be more time to reflect on that.
“… He’s going to have to sit down [with Jewish leaders]. He’s going to have to sit down with the organization after this. And we’ll evaluate and see if this is the right opportunity to bring him back.”
When asked if he agreed with the team’s decision to suspend Irving, Durant said, “I believe and trust in the organization to do what’s right.”
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