Kyrie Irving performing with a keffiyeh for Dallas' game against Milwaukee/From Twitter
Kyrie Irving is known to support the Palestinians and has spoken out in a manner that reflects antisemitic views. It is therefore not surprising that the controversial coordinator expressed solidarity with the Gazans tonight (between Saturday and Sunday) against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip. Irving showed up for the Dallas Mavericks' game against Milwaukee with a keffiyeh on his head, and wore it at his postgame press conference in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Irving did not elaborate on his "fashion" choice, and the journalists there ignored him and did not ask him a question on the subject, doubtful whether out of conscious choice or not.
Needless to say, Irving's gesture was widely celebrated and addressed in the Arab world, especially in light of the fact that the NBA was almost unanimous when it came to supporting the Israeli side in the war that began following the October 7 massacre.
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Irving, who converted to Islam several years ago, is a well-known supporter of the Palestinians. Earlier this month, he shared a tweet citing the death toll in the Gaza Strip, writing that he was "mourning them all." In August, the coordinator shared a photo from the funeral of Palestinian Qusai Ma'tan, who was killed in the village of Burqah, near Ramallah, during clashes with settlers.
In 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, Irving said it was "sad to see this happen" and accused Israel of killing "innocent innocent children and babies." He also posted a series of anti-Israeli posts on social networks in which he wrote that "the IDF shoots Palestinians at Al-Aqsa" and defined terrorists as "Palestinian freedom fighters."
Last year, he shared a video with antisemitic content on Twitter and was suspended by the NBA.
Omri Caspi, who played alongside Irving for the Cleveland Cavaliers, said in the past that he cut ties with the point guard following his incitement against the IDF and Israel.
"We were very good friends, we had a very good relationship, but we kind of disconnected around what happened with his tweets," Caspi said. "After he posted those tweets, I wrote to him, 'Kyrie, you're wrong, you need to look at the full picture.' He responded and wrote to me, 'Dude, how can I help?' which was nice of him. I wrote to him to study the subject and understand it from both sides. He converted to Islam over the years and probably got some news about what was happening here, but I told him, 'Come talk to me, I'm here, you're my brother.' We were really good friends, but he stopped following me ever since."
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