Google News Jaylen Brown weighs in on Kyrie Irving saga
by | VIEW 234
Jaylen Brown doesn't think that Kyrie Irving is antisemitic and reveals he expects the National Basketball Players Association to appeal the Irving suspension. Last week, the Brooklyn Nets handed Irving a suspension after the star guard promoted a movie full of antisemitic material.
The Nets are open to returning Irving to the team as long as he meets several conditions. Brown, who is the NBPA vice president, revealed that "a lot of the players expressed discomfort" with the terms that the Nets handed to Irving.
“I don’t believe Kyrie Irving is antisemitic. I don’t think people in our governing bodies think he’s antisemitic. He made a mistake. We understand from an outside perspective how important sensitivity is to not condone hate speech and not condone anything of that nature.
It’s sensitivity to the dialect around that. We don’t want to stand up for somebody in order to not condemn hate speech, but I don’t believe Kyrie Irving is antisemitic. And hopefully the NBA feels the same way," Brown told The Boston Globe.
Brown comes to Irving's defence
Two weeks ago, Irving promoted on his Twitter - Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America. The movie is full of antisemitic material. “There is an interesting distinction between what somebody says verbally and what somebody posts as a link on a platform with no description behind it.
Some people will argue there’s no difference and some people will argue there is a difference. There’s no language in our CBA. There’s no rules against it. This is uncharted territory for everybody, and everybody is trying to figure out the difference between the two," Brown explained.
After Irving was suspended by the Nets, he just then directly apologized to the Jewish community. "To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize.
I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary. I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against Anti- semticism by apologizing for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the Documentary I agreed with and disagreed with.
I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate. I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all," Irving wrote on Instagram.
