NBA Commissioner Adam Silver believes Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving is “deeply regretful” about sharing and promoting an anti-Semitic documentary while playing for the Brooklyn Nets in 2022 (and the actions that led to his subsequent eight-game suspension).
“Absolutely,” Silver told The Athletic's Sam Amick when asked if he thought Irving regretted releasing the footage.
“I think in private conversations at the time, including with (former NBPA executive director) Tamika Tremario, he was very remorseful. He took responsibility. I think we all know he can be a little stubborn, but I think he felt very strongly that he needed to speak for himself in terms of apologizing to the public.”
Silver added: “I had no doubt in my mind that if I hadn't felt that he was completely remorseful, committed to doing the right thing in the future and had empathy for how his words were perceived by others, I would not have said what I said at the time.”
In October 2022, Irving (then a member of the Brooklyn Nets) shared a link on his Twitter account to a film called “From Hebrew to Black: Wake Up, Black America,” a documentary that he said was “filled with anti-Semitic tropes” and contained “misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic and Islamophobic ideas that are specifically in line with the more extreme factions of Black Hebrew Israelites, who have a long history of anti-Semitism.” Rolling StoneJohn Blistein of
Irving defended his actions when asked by reporters about them following the team's 116-109 win over the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 31, 2022.
“Have I done something illegal? Have I hurt anyone? Have I caused harm to anyone? Have I openly expressed hatred for a particular group of people?” he said.
“It's on a public platform called Amazon, so it's up to you to watch it. Something is posted every day. I'm no different to any other human being, so don't treat me any differently.”
Irving was ultimately suspended eight games by the Nets after refusing to say he did not hold anti-Semitic beliefs when asked about the incident at a November 2022 press conference.
He returned to work three weeks later and said on his return:
“I do not support hate speech or anything approaching anti-Semitism or anything that is anti-human,” Irving told reporters.
“I believe we should all have the opportunity to speak up for ourselves when speculation is made about us, and I feel it was necessary for me to stand up here and take responsibility for my actions because there was a way to address all of this. In retrospect, I had the opportunity to express my deep regret to anyone who felt threatened or hurt by what I posted, which was never my intention.”
Irving was traded to the Mavericks three months later. He is now leading the Western Conference champion team in the NBA Finals, facing the Boston Celtics, who are down 1-0 in the series. Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
