The message to Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving was clear and came from the fans themselves.
A group of the team's fans took their place at last week's game in the front row, with their members wearing shirts with the inscription Fight Antisemitism.
They hoped that the star, who shared on Twitter a link to a video with anti-Semitic messages, would see the caption and realize his mistake.
Outside the Barclays Center, Jewish fans spoke of their disappointment at the star's refusal to disavow the video or his words, but stressed that they had no intention of giving up on their beloved team.
A season ticket fan who wished to remain anonymous explained that she still wants to enjoy a basketball game.
"I can ignore what he says," said the Manhattan resident who has held an annual subscription since the group moved to New Jersey.
"It's a little unpleasant, because I know how he feels."
A friend who was standing next to her added: "Part of me doesn't want to be a Nets fan anymore."
Last week, Irving shared a link to the video "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America", which is full of anti-Semitic messages and fiction that the Jews are primarily responsible for the transatlantic slave trade.
The basketball player's Twitter account has 4.6 million followers.
Even after both team owner Joe Tsai and the Anti-Defamation League condemned Irving's tweet, the basketball star refused to retract it.
"I'm not going to back down from what I believe in," the actor said.
"It will only strengthen me because I am not alone. There is an entire army around me."
The next day, the tweet was deleted.
The season ticket holder said she expects the team to suspend the player for his actions.
"He's somebody with a lot of influence, and a lot of young kids look up to him," she said.
"He should not publish things and say things in a way that can negatively affect people."
Irving.
The behavior does not match the character, photo: AP
Lindsay Heim, a 23-year-old Orthodox woman and an ardent Nets fan, was among those sitting in the front row wearing the black shirt with the protest inscription.
She said in the interview that Irving did notice them, and that there was a positive dialogue with him, according to her.
"He really paid attention to us and what we stand for," she said.
"He said something like, 'We appreciate you guys,' and thanked us."
She said that her father, who was also present at the game but did not sit on the floor, gave her and others the idea to wear the shirts with the inscription of the protest against anti-Semitism.
"We want to get people talking," said the fan.
"There wasn't much news about what Kyrie did, which is unacceptable. This was an opportunity to stand up for the Jews and show that there should be zero tolerance for anti-Semitism of any kind."
Heim said even after the first quarter of the game, her phone "exploded with calls".
"People have been texting me like, 'This is crazy,'" she said.
"It was beautiful to see all the Jewish influencers showing their support and spreading the news."
An Orthodox Jewish fan from Brooklyn who asked to remain anonymous said Irving makes him not want to come to the game because he gives him a "disgusting feeling. Why pay money to see this guy, if he's making anti-Semitic comments?" he asked. "But I'm not going to throw Throw the ticket away.
I want to see the Nets."
The fan said he doesn't take Irving's words personally, because the player "has done strange things in the past."
The name of the star, who has been playing in the NBA for ten years, has been linked to conspiracy theories about the assassination of President Kennedy and the corona virus, and he even sat on the bench for part of the 2021/22 basketball season because he refused to be vaccinated.
Last year the basketball player said that he believes that blacks are the real Jews.
Jane Carlin, who has been a Nets season ticket holder for eight years, said she used to be one of Irving's biggest fans.
"I thought he was misunderstood, and everything will work out in Brooklyn," she said, sharing that she is now considering boycotting the group.
According to her, there are many Orthodox Jewish fans in the hall who feel they are "losing something they love".
"When racist owners of an NBA team were kicked out of the league, they made a big deal out of it," Carlin said, referring to Robert Sarber, the Jewish owner of the Phoenix Suns who was suspended for making racist comments and other inappropriate behavior earlier this year.
"When it happens to the Jews, for some reason it doesn't cause the same uproar."
An Orthodox father who rushed his son into the hall said that Irving should apologize, "and if he doesn't, he should leave. I ordered these tickets months ago," he said.
"I don't know if I would have come to see him if I had known about it."
Brooklyn has a large Orthodox Jewish population, whose members have suffered from frequent unprovoked street attacks and other anti-Semitic incidents in recent years.
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