NBA Slams Hate Speech in Wake of Kyrie Irving’s Controversial Tweet

The Nets guard promoted an antisemitic film on social media earlier in the week.

The NBA is making clear where it stands on the issue of inclusion.

The league issued a statement Saturday condemning hate speech and vowing to continue working with people around the NBA to ensure they understand the impact of their words and actions in regard to race and religion. The statement comes on the heels of Nets guard Kyrie Irving’s promotion of a controversial antisemitic film on social media.

“Hate speech of any kind is unacceptable and runs counter to the NBA’s values of equality, inclusion and respect,” the statement reads. “We believe we all have a role to play in ensuring such words or ideas, including antisemitic [sic] ones, are challenged and refuted and we will continue working with all members of the NBA community to ensure that everyone understands the impact of their words and actions.”

The NBA just issued the following statement, presumably in response to Kyrie Irving’s latest: pic.twitter.com/AOQiysKR7f

— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) October 29, 2022

Irving tweeted a link to the Amazon page of the antisemitic film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America on Thursday. He posted that he “meant no disrespect” by doing so, but he has yet to delete or apologize for the tweet.

The Nets and owner Joe Tsai were unambiguous in their condemnation of Irving’s tweet recommending the movie in a Friday statement.

“I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-Semitic disinformation,” Tsai tweeted. “I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion.”