Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving suspended five games for posting anti-Semitic content on Twitter

Kyrie Irving, this Tuesday during a game of his team against the Chicago Bulls in New York. DUSTIN SATLOFF (AFP)

The Brooklyn Nets, of the NBA, have suspended their controversial star Kyrie Irving this Wednesday at least five games without pay for promoting a film with content considered anti-Semitic and later refusing to apologize.

Irving had published last week on his Twitter account a link to the tape

(From Jews to Negroes: wake up, black America) and despite the commotion caused by the post, he refused to apologize in statements today to journalists.

“In recent days, we have made repeated attempts to work with Kyrie Irving to help him understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, beginning with the posting of [a link to] a film containing deeply disturbing anti-Semitic hate. .

We believed that opting for education in this difficult situation would be the right thing to do and we thought we had moved forward with our joint commitment to eradicate hate and intolerance," the team said in a statement.

However, “we were dismayed today, when given the opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to say unequivocally that he does not hold anti-Semitic beliefs, nor to acknowledge the specific hate content of the film. .

It was not the first time that he had the opportunity to clarify it, but he did not do it ”.

For all these reasons, the franchise has decided to suspend without pay for a period of at least five games, until Irving "satisfies a series of objective corrective measures that address the detrimental impact of his conduct."

The failure to repudiate the anti-Semitic message despite the opportunity to do so is a "deeply troubling" fact for the Brooklyn Nets.

Irving, a seven-time All Star and controversial figure - he refused to be vaccinated against covid, which cost him two-thirds of last season - unleashed an avalanche of criticism not only among the important American Jewish community, but also among fellow students. the NBA, such as player Shaquille O'Neal and commissioner Adam Silver.

Earlier today, Silver himself had expressed his disappointment with Irving, a player who has repeatedly challenged the league in the past with boycotts and snubs, and said he would meet with him next week.

Faced with mounting pressure to retract, Irving admitted to reporters today that promoting the film, based on a book of the same title, had a "negative impact" on the Jewish community and announced a $500,000 donation to organizations working to combat hate messages.

However, Silver has considered that hint of apology insufficient.

The serious scope of hate speech has been confirmed today by the FBI, which has "credible information" about a "wide threat" against synagogues in New Jersey, the twin state of New York.

The NYPD's Intelligence and Counterterrorism departments are collaborating with counterterrorism forces and the FBI to ensure the safety of the Jewish community in both states.

The scandal caused by his tweet has become the talk of the NBA but has gone far beyond its limits, to the extent that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the main Jewish associations in the US, published this Tuesday on its website a review to clarify the hate content of the film, shot in 2018 and with a footage of more than three hours.

Among other messages, the tape makes claims about a global Jewish conspiracy to oppress and deceive Black people, that Jews are partly responsible for the transatlantic slave trade, and that Jews falsified Holocaust history to “hide its nature and protect its status and power”, in addition to amplifying “the old anti-Semitic platitudes about the power, control and greed of the Jews,

It is the second time in as many weeks that an anti-Semitic comment has cost an American celebrity her career.

The rapper Ye (Kayne West), winner of 22 Grammy Awards, has seen his career vanish at a stroke and succulent contracts with fashion firms for giving fuel -and publicity- to conspiracy theories in a spiral of verbal violence and anti-Semite that has also caused his expulsion from the networks.

His political messages, in line with the disinformation spread by the Republican extreme right, were also deserving of a complaint by the American Jewish Committee (AJC, in its English acronym) for "perpetuating anti-Semitic prejudices such as greed and control" economic .

If in the case of Ye-West, also a designer and entrepreneur, recklessness has definitely cost him his career,

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on