Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving has dragged himself into quite a controversy after promoting a film that pushes antisemitic notions. This is far from the first time Kyrie has been embroiled in a very polarizing situation, but there's no denying that he's been on the receiving end of tremendous backlash over his recent actions.
Renowned broadcaster Rich Eisen has responded to Kyrie's comments, and the NFL Network sportscaster did not hold back in slamming the Nets guard over this most recent saga (via Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post):
“You’re dehumanizing me, Kyrie. I’m a Jewish man,” Eisen said. “Descendant of people who died in gas chambers and got incinerated by Nazis. You’re dehumanizing me by putting on your platform a book and movie that is filled with anti-Semitic tropes that are designed or eventually lead to the dehumanization of me, and my children, and my ancestors who died because they were Jewish.
“It’s not funny, and I can’t believe I have to tell someone from Duke who’s clearly smart enough to know — you’re not promoting it with a tour — but when you put it in front of four million people who might not have known about it, you’re promoting it! You’re giving it your platform. When you give it your platform, you may not agree with all the things of the people who created the book or movie or theory that you say is true, you’re now owning all of that person’s opinions.”
Kyrie's tweet about the Hebrews to Negroes movie has completely blown up. Both the Nets and the NBA have been forced to make a statement with regard to this issue, and even Irving's sportswear sponsor, Nike, has spoken out. Kanye West, who himself has been the stuff of headlines due to his tirade against the Jewish people, offered his support for Kyrie.
For Rich Eisen, however, he believes that Kyrie Irving's actions could lead to a very slippery slope:
“Yeah, it’s offensive, and it’s also really scary, because it’s normalized by somebody who puts a ball through a hoop, and is very famous and generationally rich for it, and you have a platform because of it, and it’s normalized,” Eisen said.
"I know what anti-Semitic tropes look like, what they sound like and what they feel like."@richeisen on the dangerous behavior of @KyrieIrving:#NBA #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/N70dM8Gbg1
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) October 31, 2022
For his part, Kyrie Irving has been steadfast in his initial statement, and he has refused to retract or apologize for the same.
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