After a lot of unrepentantly defiant antisemitism displayed by Kyrie Irving and a lot of waffling by the Brooklyn Nets and the NBA, the Nets have finally suspended Irving for at least five games. Here is the complete statement issued by the team:
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 currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets. We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct and the suspension period served is no less than five games.
A few hours after the Nets announced Irving's suspension, Irving made the following Instagram post (I have not changed the grammar or spelling in his post):
While doing research on YHWH (Yahweh), I posted a documentary that contained some false anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion, and I take full accountability and responsibly for my actions. I am grateful to have a big platform to share knowledge and I want to move forward by having an open dialogue to learn more and grow from this.
To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize. I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary. I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against Anti-semticism by apologizing for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the Documentary I agreed with and disagreed with. I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate. I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all. I am no different than any other human being. I am a seeker of truth and knowledge, and I know who I Am.
Note that Irving still refuses to say what exactly he agrees with in the film. The film consists of three hours of lies and nonsense thrown together, so Irving's statement is equivalent to someone listening to David Duke ramble on for three hours, posting a link to Duke's speech, and then later saying, "Well, I don't agree with everything he said, and I apologize to anyone who is offended."
If Irving's apology is sincere and if he is truly "a seeker of truth and knowledge" then he can start by clarifying exactly what he believes. Then, he can educate his social media followers who responded with ignorant comments reiterating and amplifying the lies stated in the film that Irving promoted in a previous (and subsequently deleted) social media post. Irving's followers truly believe that Irving is some kind of truth-speaking prophet and not a dude who is gullible enough to fall hook, line, and sinker for conspiracy theories that are easily debunked.
I know better than to try to persuade people who are willfully blind to the truth, but when thinking about who has power, what are the limits of free speech, and what is the nature of objective historical truth, it is interesting to keep in mind a few facts that I have mentioned in my previous articles about Irving:
1) Irving has more social media followers than the Jewish population of the world. Irving has over 20 million followers, while there are fewer than 15 million Jews in a world that has a population of nearly 8 billion people. When Irving boasts that he has an "army" supporting him, that is not an exaggeration. He is far from powerless both in terms of his personal, generational wealth, and in terms of the influence that he wields. If each of his followers spreads his messages to just five more people, Irving potentially reaches 100 million people every time he makes a social media post.
The Jewish people are so powerful that less than 80 years ago a third of their population was massacred in Europe while the Jewish people were unable to get immigration quotas lifted in any major Western country, including America.
2) No one has challenged Irving's free speech right to post whatever he wants to post. The First Amendment protects against government restriction of a citizen's free speech rights--but just like Irving has a right to say what he wants to say, other people have a right to respond to him, to question him, and to decide to not employ him or do business with him.
3) I have seen some people assert that the film that Irving promoted speaks the truth, and I have seen other people say some version of "everyone has a right to speak his truth."
Regarding the first sentiment, the movie that Irving promoted asserts that the Holocaust never happened, that Jews controlled the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and that Jews worship Satan. Those statements are all demonstrably false. This would be equivalent to a white supremacist stating that slavery never happened, that Black people are responsible for harming white people on a massive scale, and that Black people worship Satan. If you support Irving's promotion of antisemitic falsehoods, then you have no standing to challenge white supremacists who state that they are not attacking Black people but rather defending white people, and you definitely need to stop talking about so-called "micro-aggressions." To be clear, I find both white supremacy and Holocaust denial to be offensive; I condemn both. I just don't want to hear about "micro-aggressions" from people who endorse "macro-aggressions" that contradict historical truth and contribute to a climate in which antisemitic violence is soaring to unprecedented levels.
Regarding the second sentiment, this notion that there is not an objective truth but that each person has his or her own "truth" is precisely what George Orwell warned about in his classic dystopian novel 1984. If words lose their objective meaning and if history can be whatever each person believes it to be then we have no shared past and no shared future because there are no longer standards for what is right, what is wrong, what is true, and what is false. There are far too many people in our society who would love to take our educational system in that direction. The Soviet Union tried it, China is doing it now, Cuba is doing it now, and we have seen--without fail--that every nation that goes down this path ends up persecuting its own people and terrorizing its neighbors.
People laughed and shook their heads when Kyrie Irving suggested that he believes the world is flat, not understanding where this kind of irrational thinking leads; once you abandon objective truth, anything is believable, and any action can be justified.
I doubt that Irving sorted his way through all of the above truths in the past four or five hours, but either he or people close to him figured out that he is on his way to killing the golden goose that lays $40 million per year eggs for him. I doubt that many of his followers will ever figure this stuff out, but if Irving makes a sincere attempt to become more informed and objective then perhaps he can become the "light" he claims to aspire to be.
I am rooting for Irving to grow, and for his followers to grow with him. It is not an exaggeration to say that our society's fate depends on people leaning toward objective truth, and leaning away from subjective, personal "truth."
It is not too late for the NBA office, the NBA Players Association, and the coaches who are self-styled social justice warriors to make their voices heard against antisemitism. Their continued silence speaks volumes.