All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving was recently suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for a minimum of five games after his staunch refusal to give an unequivocal apology for tweeting out his apparent endorsement for a documentary that spewed anti-Semitic rhetoric. Shortly thereafter, Irving posted an apology on his Instagram account, saying he takes “full accountability” for his actions.
However, that wasn't enough for the Nets to reinstate him, as they released a list of actions Irving must accomplish first before they welcome him back to the court.
Alas, the Irving debate rages on, with some saying that the Nets' requirements for his reinstatement are harsh, while some are saying that the Nets are merely asking the bare minimum out of their star point guard. One prominent personality whose views are much more aligned with the former train of thought is Nick Cannon, who even went as far as to compare Kyrie Irving's ordeal to the horrific experiences Black people went through back when slavery was yet to be abolished.
“So in that same statement as, ‘Those are the tropes that dehumanize Jewish people,' the same buck-breaking'… [is when] the slave masters would bring the buck, the one that gets out of line, so all the other slaves would see, lash after lash, show them the power to set an example,” Cannon told Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a snippet of the debut episode of the 2 Hate or Not 2 Hate Podcast.
“This is what you must do to fall in line. So, when we see the six things that Kyrie must do to get his job back, that’s dehumanizing.”
Nick Cannon's remarks will certainly prove to be divisive, contributing to the ever-growing polarity of social media with regards to serious racial issues. It's important to note that Cannon himself was the center of controversy in the past when he referred to Jewish people as “barbaric”, “animals”, and “true savages”. As a consequence, ViacomCBS terminated their partnership with the 42-year old host/actor.
At the end of the day, it's not as if the Nets are forcing Kyrie Irving to do anything he doesn't want to. It's the Nets' prerogative to set the terms for suitable employment, and it's not like they're causing Irving physical harm or restricting his freedom of speech in the process, unlike what Cannon implied. Only time will tell how this mess of a situation gets resolved.
Follow Us
Subscribe
