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Things have gone from bad to worse from Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving. While Irving and his camp took some steps to save face, having said in a statement that he was “aware of the negative impact” of his post towards the Jewish community and that he “takes responsibility”, and then pledging to donate $500,000 to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) , the 30-year old point guard doubled down on his refusal to give a straightforward apology in his most recent appearance in front of the media.
Surely enough, the Nets were at their end of their rope with Irving's inability to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film”, and suspended him for at least five games without pay, a major development especially after NBA commissioner Adam Silver himself vowed to address the situation himself in the coming days.
And now, as a result, the ADL have refused to accept Kyrie Irving's monetary donation, per Ian Begley.
“We were optimistic, but after watching the debacle of a press conference, it’s clear that Kyrie feels no accountability for his actions. ADL cannot in good conscience accept,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.
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In addition, Greenblatt put Irving on blast in a tweet, saying that it was “good” for the Nets to have suspended their star point guard because despite being given “ample opportunity to do the right thing, apologize and condemn antisemitism, he has failed at almost every step along the way” and that his suspension is “well-deserved”.
ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt also stated via Twitter that Irving ‘failed at almost every step along the way’ to apologize and condemn antisemitism. He commends the Nets for suspending Irving: pic.twitter.com/DsEbLScTtu
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) November 4, 2022
In the Nets' statement regarding their decision to suspend Irving, they were scathing in their criticism of the much-maligned point guard, saying that he is “unfit” to be associated with the team primarily because his “failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of the Nets organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team.”
Kyrie Irving will not be able to make his return to the court, the statement adds, “until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct”. Irving will reportedly miss out on $251,747 with every game he misses.
