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New Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving sets the record straight on why he deleted his Instagram post where he apologized for promoting a documentary and book with antisemitic themes.
Irving made headlines earlier in the season as many people label him anti-Semitic for his promotion of the said documentary. He initially refused to apologize as he stood by what he shared, leading the Brooklyn Nets to suspend him until he apologized and fulfill other requirements that they listed out.
Eventually, Irving apologized, taking it to Instagram to say that he is “deeply sorry” for the pain he has caused the Jewish community. One part of his apology read, “I posted a documentary that contained some false anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion, and I take full accountability and responsibility for my actions.”
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Interestingly, the said apology post has since been deleted, raising questions if he did so since he's no longer with the Nets. A lot of fans are also questioning his sincerity after deleting the post. It is worth noting, however, that the new Mavs guard appeared to have removed the apology from social media way before his trade–with Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports reporting last January that it's already gone at that point.
Now in his introductory press conference with Dallas on Tuesday, Irving explained his reasoning behind it and emphasized that he deleted several other things. The 30-year-old also pointed out that he's not trying to disrespect the Jewish community or whatsoever.
“I delete a lot of things on my Instagram. I've had things that have happened before in my life, probably not as drastic as that moment, which led to a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what I meant and what I stand for. I had to sit up in front of these mikes and explain to the world who I am and I know who I am. I delete things all the time and it's no disrespect to anyone in the community. Just living my life,” Irving said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Kyrie Irving is hoping for a fresh start with the Mavs after his controversial time with the Nets. Here's to hoping that the controversies that haunted him in Brooklyn won't keep following him now that he's in Dallas.
