Kyrie Irving and the tweets that put him under the magnifying glass 1:40
(CNN) --
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving apologized Thursday night for tweeting a link to a documentary criticized as anti-Semitic and said he takes full responsibility for his decision to share the content with his nearly 5 million followers.
The NBA star posted the apology on his verified Instagram account hours after the Nets announced a five-game suspension for his subsequent defense of their decision.
“To all the Jewish families and communities that are hurt and affected by my post, I am deeply sorry for causing you pain and I apologize,” Irving wrote.
“I initially reacted out of the emotion of being unfairly labeled anti-Semitic, rather than focusing on the healing process of my Jewish brothers and sisters who were hurt by the hateful comments made in the documentary.
Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets during an NBA preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 12.
“I had no intention of disrespecting any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuating any hatred.
I am learning from this unfortunate event and I hope that we can find understanding among all of us,” Irving continued.
Irving was condemned last week by, among others, Nets owner Joe Tsai and the NBA for tweeting a link to the 2018 film "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America." Black United), which is based on Ronald Dalton's book of the same name and has been criticized for being anti-Semitic by civil rights groups.
Before Irving shared his apology, his team posted a statement on Twitter saying they made repeated attempts to help Irving "understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, beginning when he publicized a movie containing anti-Semitic hate." deeply disturbing."
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The Nets said they were "dismayed" Thursday when Irving "refused to say unequivocally that he has no anti-Semitic beliefs, or acknowledge specific hate material in the film," during a news session.
"This was not the first time he had the opportunity to clear it up, but he failed," the team said.
While meeting with the media earlier Thursday, Irving was asked if this was an apology when he said he meant no offense after tweeting a link to the film.
"I didn't mean to cause any harm," Irving replied.
"I'm not the one who made the documentary."
“I take full responsibility, again I repeat, for posting something on my Instagram or Twitter that may have contained some unfortunate falsehoods,” he said.
“I take my responsibility for posting that,” Irving continued.
“Some things that were questionable there, false.
“Like I said the first time everyone asked me while I was sitting on that stage.
I don't believe everything everyone posts.
It's a documental.
So I take my responsibility."
When asked if he had any anti-Semitic beliefs, Irving replied: “I respect all walks of life.
I embrace all walks of life.
That's where I feel."
When pressed to answer yes or no to the question, he replied, "I can't be anti-Semitic if I know where I come from."
In response to that response on Twitter, the executive director of the Anti-Defamation League, a "non-profit organization dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of hate that undermines justice and fair treatment for every individual," said Irving had “a lot of work to do”.
“The answer to the question 'Do you have any anti-Semitic beliefs?'
is always 'NO' without equivocation.
We took @KyrieIrving at his word when he said he took responsibility, but today he reneged on that promise,” Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on Thursday.
"Kyrie clearly has a lot of work to do."
The Nets said in their statement Thursday: “Such a failure to repudiate anti-Semitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, runs counter to the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team.
Accordingly, we are of the opinion that he is currently unfit to associate with the Brooklyn Nets.
We have decided that Kyrie will serve an unpaid suspension until he completes a series of objective corrective measures that address the deleterious impact of his conduct and the period of suspension served is not less than five games.”
The Anti-Defamation League rejects a donation from Irving
That media appearance followed an announcement Wednesday by Irving and the Nets that they would both donate $500,000 to anti-hate organizations.
In an earlier joint statement between Irving, the Nets and the Anti-Defamation League, the 30-year-old said he took "responsibility" for the "negative impact" his post had on the Jewish community.
But Thursday night, after the suspension announcement, Greenblatt wrote on Twitter that the ADL could not "in good conscience" accept Irving's donation.
“(Irving) has had a great opportunity to do the right thing, apologize and condemn #anti-Semitism.
He has failed at almost every step of the way.
This suspension is well deserved,” Greenblatt said.
"We were optimistic, but after seeing the debacle of a press conference, it is clear that Kyrie does not feel responsible for his actions."
Earlier this week, NBA analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said he thought the league "dropped the ball" on Irving and believed the player should have been suspended.
Asked Tuesday why Irving hadn't been disciplined for his actions, Nets general manager Sean Marks told reporters, "I think we're having these discussions behind the scenes."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was "disappointed" with Irving after the guard failed to offer an apology or speak out against the "harmful content contained in the film he chose to advertise."
Silver will meet with Irving next week, the commissioner said in a statement Thursday.
"Kyrie Irving made an unwise decision to post a link to a film that contained deeply offensive anti-Semitic material," Silver said.
“While we appreciate the fact that you have agreed to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that you have not offered an unqualified apology and, more specifically, called out the vile harmful content included in the movie you chose to advertise.”
Irving was not available to the media on Monday or Tuesday after Nets games on those days.
The joint statement said the donations were made to "eradicate hate and bigotry in our communities."
Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League had said: "At a time when anti-Semitism has reached historic levels, we know that the best way to combat the oldest hate is to confront it head-on and also change hearts and minds."
Kanye West, who has come under fire following anti-Semitic comments on social media and in interviews, showed his support for Irving, tweeting a photo of the guard on Thursday.
CNN's Aya Elamroussi and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.
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