It has been a doozy of a week for Brooklyn Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving. This saga began when Irving tweeted out a link to (the admittedly poorly-made) Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, a documentary that appears to spew anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish rhetoric, and now less than a week later, the Nets have suspended Irving for a minimum of five games without pay.
The 30-year old point guard has faced a barrage of criticisms, most of them well-warranted, not only for his apparent endorsement of anti-Semitic views, but for his ardent refusal to give an unambiguous apology for his actions. But Irving, perhaps with his entire career flashing before his eyes, finally released a statement yesterday, saying that he is “deeply sorry” for causing the Jewish community pain, and that he is taking “full accountability and responsibility” for his actions.
Nevertheless, Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), is firm in his earlier refusal of Kyrie Irving and his camp's $500,000 donation in an attempt to mend fences. Still, with Irving perhaps ready to take more concrete steps to rectify the errors of his ways, the ADL is encouraging a dialogue between them and the much-maligned Nets point guard.
“This is an encouraging step from Kyrie. But actions speak louder than words. […] Although we will not accept any funds from him, if Kyrie is open to direct dialogue to repair the harm that he has caused and to engage in a process of healing and learning in a sincere manner, ADL is open to engaging with him. Time and action will tell,” Greenblatt said, per Ian Begley.
With the Nets having said in the statement they released announcing Irving's suspension that he has to fulfill certain measures to address the “harmful impact” of his conduct before being allowed to return, perhaps Irving is more than willing to engage in what should be a productive dialogue.
Alas, like Meyers Leonard has done, Kyrie Irving has to know that he still has a lot on his plate to show the world that he, indeed, is truly sorry for his actions, not just for the consequences he's been dealt.
“Because of his post and previous refusals to walk it back, the antisemitic film/book is now a best seller in multiple categories on Amazon. There is a lot more to do undue this damage,” Greenblatt added.
At the end of the day, what's important for Irving is that he engages in conversations with people who know more about the subject matter than he does. Meanwhile, NBA fans should give Irving a fair shot to redeem himself and for him to change his opinion when presented with new (factual) information.
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