Basketball superstar Kyrie Irving is widely regarded as one of the greatest ball handlers in the NBA. His stellar ball control and ability to create shots in desperate situations is one of his greatly respected attributes on the court.
Off the court, Kyrie, one of the most famous players in the league, has a heartwarming and generous personality and is known for his significant contributions to social causes that need awareness. He is also a strong believer and advocate for human rights’ movements. However, in October 2022, the star began facing backlash after he posted a link on his Twitter account which redirected users to an antisemitic film which has now led to the star being involved in a Pro-Jewish signs controversy.
How did Kyrie Irving get involved in pro-Jewish signs controversy?
In a game involving Kyrie Irving, a group of rabbis bought front row tickets and held with them signs that read “I’m a Jew and I’m proud”. Led by local Utah rabbi Avremi Zippel, the group of rabbis aimed to protest against Kyrie’s actions in 2022 which exposed him for promoting antisemitic content.
While the star stood by his stance and did not take the video down, he suffered deep losses in the public domain. Kyrie was suspended by his then-team, the Brooklyn Nets after his failure to apologize and accept his actions. However instead of giving straightforward answers, Irving gave reporters puzzling answers which made the team agitated with his actions following which they deemed him unfit for association with the Nets.
Fast forward to January this year, rabbi and ardent Jazz fan Avremi Zippel sat courtside with three other rabbis to watch the Jazz take on the Mavericks in Utah.
However, the intended protests did not seem to go well for the rabbis as Zippel mentions in a string of posts on the community leader’s Twitter page.
According to Zippel, in the first quarter of the Mavs-Jazz game, Kyrie told the group that there was no need for the signs to be brought to a game. In the following timeout, player spoke to Mavericks’ security which led to the Jazz personnel getting involved and checking their tickets, after which the rabbis were asked to stop displaying the signs.
However, a spokesperson for Kyrie denied the player’s involvement and remarked that the Utah Jazz were simply following their protocol on demonstrations and signs.
The representative said, “Mr. Irving, did not complain about the signage. It was the arena/Utah Jazz’s protocol to ask the courtside patrons to remove their signs.”
The home team, Utah Jazz, also released statements immediately after the controversial clash.
The statement read, “During an out-of-bounds play in the first quarter of yesterday’s Jazz game against the Dallas Mavericks, there was a group sitting courtside whose signs sparked an interaction with a player that created a distraction and interfered with the play of game. The issue was the disruptive interaction caused by usage of the signs, not the content of the signs.”
Zippel however emphasized Kyrie Irving’s involvement in the shenanigans and announced on his Twitter that the controversy occurred only because one person was offended in the entire arena.
“Bottom line: there was one person, in a building of 18,000+, that was triggered by sign that says ‘I’m a Jew and I’m proud,’ Why that bothers him so, to the point that it sparks an interaction, should be the real question anyone is asking,” Zippel said.
This is not the first incident of fans protesting in the arena against Kyrie’s actions as eight fans booked courtside seats in a Nets game to protest against the eight-time All-Star in October 2022.
Kyrie Irving’s previous anti-Semitic controversy
Kyrie Irving’s tumultuous history with the Jewish community began in October, two years ago after the one-time champion posted a link on Twitter which redirected users to a film which incorporated heightened levels of hate towards the Jewish community.
The film, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” was posted on Kyrie’s Twitter on October 27th. Ever since, only trouble has followed the reputed athlete. The Nets forced Kyrie Irving to apologize to the Jewish community and also encouraged him to meet with leaders of the community as a sign of goodwill.
However, the star only aimed to double down on his stances as he never accepted or denied whether he had antisemitic beliefs, a question that was put forth to Irving on multiple platforms.
Kyrie never came forward denying his beliefs and he only seemed to make apologies which led to further controversies. The Nets decided to suspend the elite point guard in order to stop the association they had with him, hoping that Kyrie would make efforts to change for the better.
On public forefronts, the star suffered colossal financial and marketing losses. Nike, the longtime sponsor of Kyrie severed ties with the player and decided against the launch of the Kyrie 8’s from star’s highly successful shoeline.
The company also released a statement which said, “At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism. We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
Eventually as the controversy died down, the Nets and Irving failed to reach contract extensions and finally found a new team with Dallas Mavericks, alongside Luka Doncic.
Kyrie and the Mavericks will hope for no obstructions with this incident as they hope to make a deep run in the NBA Playoffs later this year.
What do you think of the controversy surrounding Kyrie? Are Kyrie’s apologies justified? What should be done? We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions surrounding this topic so feel free to comment below.
