UNITED STATES: The Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving’s support of an anti-Semitic documentary led to Nike Inc. ending its partnership with him on Friday and postponing the debut of its next Irving-branded sneaker.
Irving was already serving a minimum five-game suspension from the Nets after he twice wavered in his apologies for the documentary. Later, late on Thursday, Irving offered a more comprehensive apology for endorsing a project that he claimed contained “false anti-Semitic claims.”
Additionally, he won’t be paid by the Nets while he is on suspension. According to sources, he has a $36.9 million contract this season after making approximately $195 million over the course of his previous 11 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets had stated that he would serve a minimum five-game suspension as well as an undefined number of “remedial measures.”
Since sharing a link to a 2018 remark on Twitter last week and defending the article over the weekend, Irving has come in for harsh criticism. The tweet from the seven-time All-Star was later removed.
He apologised to those “hurt by the hateful remarks made in the documentary” in a post on Instagram on Thursday and claimed full responsibility for his choice to share the material with his followers.
Irving stated that the film “contained some false anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish race and religion.”
The dispute arises at a delicate time for Jews in the US. The New York City borough of Brooklyn, which has one of the densest Jewish communities in the world, is directly across the bay from New Jersey, where the FBI issued a credible threat warning on Thursday.
Irving’s suspension and apology come in response to the uproar caused by Ye, the musician formerly known as Kanye West, who was banned from social media last month for postings that were seen to be anti-Semitic by internet users.
It’s not the first time in the NBA that Irving has stirred up controversy with his social media statements.
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