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- The Brooklyn Nets are condemning Kyrie Irving for promoting antisemitic content on Twitter.
- The player shared a link to a 2018 film called “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” known for its extremist content.
- “I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-semitic disinformation,” Nets owner Joe Tsai said in a statement.
Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving is once again drawing ire, this time for sharing a link to an antisemitic book and film on Twitter.
Irving — who made headlines last year after he was benched for home games after refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, in violation of New York City’s mandates — shared a tweet on Thursday linking to “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” on Amazon Prime.
As first detailed in Rolling Stone by Jon Blistein, the 2018 film — directed by Ronald Dalton, Jr. and based on his book of the same name — features several antisemitic tropes, including “more extreme factions of the Black Hebrew Israelites, which have a long history of misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and especially antisemitism.”
Blistein writes that some Black Hebrew Israelites are known for referring to European Jews as the “synagogue of Satan,” and promote the belief that Jews are responsible for slavery. Dalton’s film and book mention “Jewish slave ships that brought our West African negro or Bantu ancestors to slave ports owned by [Jews],” Rolling Stone reported.
Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai denounced Irving’s behavior in a tweet on Friday.
“I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-semitic disinformation,” Tsai wrote. “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. This is bigger than basketball.”
His remarks came shortly after the Nets organization shared its own statement, also decrying Irving’s tweet.
“The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech,” the statement reads. “We believe that in these situations, our first action must be open, honest dialogue. We thank those, including the ADL [Anti-Defamation League], who have been supportive during this time.”
The incident marks the latest in a series of controversies involving Irving. In addition to his stanch anti-vaccination sentiments, the player has referred to himself as a “conspiracy theorist,” according to ESPN.
Earlier this year, Irving reposted alt-right leader Alex Jones’ “New World Order” conspiracy — that an organization is “releasing diseases and viruses and plagues upon us.” He formerly apologized for endorsing “Flat Earth theory” in 2018.
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