Kyrie Irving was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for at least five games on Thursday without pay after they were outraged by his repeated refusal to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.”
The Brooklyn Nets stated that Irving is “currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets” after Irving refused to express regret for posting a link to an anti-Semitic piece on his Twitter feed, as demanded by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
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“We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity — but failed — to clarify,” the Nets noted in a statement.
“Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets,” the statement added.
Irving’s post-practice interview on Thursday morning made it evident that not much had changed despite the Nets’ claims that they made several attempts in recent days to assist Irving in comprehending the harm and danger of his remarks and behaviour.
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Who is Kyrie Irving?
Kyrie Andrew Irving is a professional basketball player who
has a contract with the Brooklyn Nets for playing in the National Basketball
Association (NBA). He plays as the point guard while donning the number 11
jersey and was born in Melbourne, Australia.
He has been in the limelight because of the Brooklyn Nets’
decision of not playing him until he meets vaccine requirements. This is
because the player has refused to get vaccinated which makes him ineligible to play
for the Nets in several games.
Irving was born to Drederick and Elizabeth Irving. His father
was a professional basketball player who played for Boston University between
1984 and 1988.
Drederick’s heroics are still remembered as he had his jersey retired
and holds the record for being the second-best player in the university’s
history with 1,931 career points to his name.
The star lost his mother early on, when he was just a
four-year-old toddler and knew that he wanted to pursue basketball professional
at a very young age.
Kyrie holds citizenship of Australia along with that of the
United States because of being born in Australia while his father played for
the Bulleen Boomers.
Before the NBA he played one season for Duke University
where he played 11 games as a freshman but unfortunately had to miss out on 26
matches due to suffering from a toe injury.
The 29-year-old was the first overall pick in NBA’s 2011
draft after being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He helped the Cavaliers to their first ever NBA championship
in 2016 but was sold to the Boston Celtics in the following season where he
stayed for two years.
In 2016, he became an Olympic gold medal winner
In 2019, he put his signature on a four-year deal worth $141
million with the Brooklyn Nets where he plays presently.
His Nike shoes are very popular and amongst the brand’s top
selling basketball collections. NBA players are often spotted wearing Irving’s
signature shoes. The basketballer enjoys reading, singing, dancing and playing
the baritone saxophone.
