Nets condemn Kyrie Irving’s promotion of film with anti-Semitic content

Published on : 29/10/2022 – 07:22Modified : 29/10/2022 – 07:20

« The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have zero tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech. We believe that in these situations, our first action must be open and honest dialogue. We thank those, including the ADL (a non-governmental organization whose goal is to support Jews against all forms of anti-Semitism), who supported us,” the NBA franchise said Friday night.

In the aftermath, Nets owner Joe Tsai also lamented the situation on Twitter.

« I’m disappointed that Kyrie seems to be supporting a film based on a book full of anti-Semitic misinformation. I want to sit down with him and make sure he understands that this is hurtful to all of us, and that as As a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hatred based on race, ethnicity or religion. It is more important than basketball, » he wrote.

It was Thursday, before playing and losing with the Nets against the Mavericks, that the star tweeted and posted on Instagram a link to the Amazon site where « Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America » ​​can be rented or purchased. “(“H2N”), causing an uproar on the web.

Rolling Stone magazine pointed out that the film, directed by Ronald Dalton, Jr, is adapted from a 2015 book of the same name, in which it is written, for example, that « many famous high-ranking Jews » have « admitted » having « worshipped Satan or Lucifer ».

This work also quotes passages from the anti-Semitic publication « The Protocols of the Elders of Zion » and refers to the « Jew-controlled news media ».

As of Friday evening, the poster for the film and the link for its viewing had not disappeared from the social networks of Irving, who had already made a name for himself in September, by posting on Instagram a message from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones talking about the « New world order ».

This case comes a few days after the great controversy aroused by the case of Kanye West, suspended from Twitter after writing that he was going to attack Jews, in a post since deleted by the social network.

The rapper, who says he suffers from bipolar disorder, also appeared in early October wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “White Lives Matter” crossed out at a fashion show in Paris. This slogan, used by the American far right, diverts the name of the « Black Lives Matter » movement, which campaigns against racism against African-Americans.

© 2022 AFP