Nets condemn hate speech after Kyrie Irving endorses antisemitic film

The Brooklyn Nets released a statement decrying hate speech after point guard Kyrie Irving endorsed an antisemitic film and book on social media.

Antisemitism has been front-and-center this week with Kanye West facing backlash for spreading dangerous stereotypes and conspiracy theories but he’s not the only major public figure, unfortunately, feeding the hate.

Nets point guard Kyrie Irving decided not to learn from Kanye’s mistakes. He went all in on them by promoting an antisemitic film on social media including his Twitter on Thursday.

Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone blasted Irving for promoting a work full of falsehoods and hate speech.

Nets condemned hate speech after Kyrie Irving promoted an antisemitic film

Nets Daily asked the team for comment and here’s what they said:

“The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech. We believe that in these situations, our first action must be open, honest dialogue. We thank those, including the ADL, who have been supportive during this time.”

The statement is a start, but it’s telling that more than 24 hours after Kyrie tweeted the link to the film, that tweet remains untouched and no apology or explanation has been offered.

The film Irving chose to spread on Friday has its roots in the extremist sects of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement. The Anti-Defamation League has more information on that movement and the troubling beliefs it pushes.

Like West, Irving has a giant platform. With it comes a great responsibility, which Irving is failing to uphold.

When Irving was spouting flat-earth conspiracies, he just made himself look silly. However, his more recent speech including pushing anti-vaccine conspiracies, appearing to promote Alex Jones and now spreading antisemitic media is much more concerning and damaging.

West has lost multiple partnerships and endorsements. Will Irving face similar consequences for his behavior?