Kyrie Irving and the Disturbing Antisemitic Trend

On October 27th, NBA star Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets kicked off more than a month of controversy when he tweeted a link to a film that attempts to prove that some people of color are the true descendants of the biblical Israelites. The film’s claim that the Jewish religion is just a cover-up to prevent Black people from learning their “true identity” clearly offends many Jews. Irving was eventually suspended for several games and lost his business relationship with Nike, but his comments are part of a recent rise in anti-semitic speech. 

Luckily, after this outlandish public behavior, many important individuals and organizations spoke out against his tweet. Joe Tsai, the owner of the Nets, said that he is “disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-semitic disinformation.” Tsai expressed his wish to sit down with Irving and have Irving understand the hurt the statement caused. “As a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion,” he said. However, Irving appeared unmoved, standing by his claim that he had said nothing wrong.

Irving’s inaction brought a reprimand from his team and his coach. “The organization has spoken to Kyrie about it. Clearly, I think we all represent values of inclusiveness, and equality, and condemn hate speech,” Nets Coach Steve Nash said.

“The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech,” the team stated. Even the NBA commented on Irving’s statements, saying that his hate speech went against the values of the league, and adding, “We believe we all have a role to play in ensuring such words or ideas, including antisemitic 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.”

However, the situation is bigger than basketball. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called the tweet “disturbing.”

NBA hall-of-famer Charles Barkley said that the NBA should have suspended Irving. His reasoning was that the NBA’s commissioner, Adam Silver, is Jewish. “You can’t take my $40 million [Irving’s reported salary] and insult my religion,” Barkley said.

Even after the criticism, Irving chose to defend his statements. “In terms of the backlash, we’re in 2022, history is not supposed to be hidden from anybody and I’m not a divisive person when it comes to religion, I embrace all walks of life,” he said. “So the claims of antisemitism and who are the original chosen people of God and we go into these religious conversations and it’s a big no, no, I don’t live my life that way.” 

Ronald Dalton, the author of the book that inspired the film, has said that he would defend Irving, claiming, “Black Negro people of ‘Bantu’ descent in the Diaspora and in Sub-Saharan Africa cannot be labeled ‘Anti-Semitic’ because we are the True Ethnic Bloodline Israelites of the Bible. If Kyrie Irving or any Black Celebrity needs 'backup’ to prove that we are the True Israelites … I am available to assist them on or off the camera so that the world can finally see and receive the TRUTH.”

Irving says that he identifies as an “omnist,” meaning someone who believes in all religions. 

However, although Irving continues to show no remorse, repairs are trying to be made. For example, the Nets released a statement saying that Irving and the Nets each will donate $500,000 “toward causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities.” Irving has said that he still is trying to learn and is “walking the path of life.”

We must raise awareness about anti-semitism. Kyrie Irving is not the first to make comments like these. Kanye West also made some hateful comments towards Jewish people. It is unfortunate how these kinds of comments are going up. According to the Anti-Defamation League, in 2021 alone, there were 2,717 antisemitic incidents thoughtout the United States. Overall, this number is a 34% increase from the 2,026 incidents recorded in 2020. Comparing to the numbers from 2020, out of the 2,717 incidents, there was a 43% increase in cases of harassment, with 1,766 cases; there was a 14% increase in vandalism, with 853 cases; and in terms of antisemitic assault, there was a whopping 167% increase, with 88 cases.

Why are cases of antisemitism going up? There are many causes. White supremacist groups, Arab-Israeli conflict, and rejecting the connections of Jews to Israel act as the main causes. One way to keep this number down is to know the stats, and they don’t look good. If we don’t become more aware, the count could keep on rising.