Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai expressed his disappointment in Kyrie Irving on Friday after the guard promoted a film Thursday that contains anti-Semitic tropes.
I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-semitic disinformation. 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.
— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) October 29, 2022
This is bigger than basketball
— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) October 29, 2022
On Saturday, Irving tweeted to deny that he is anti-Semitic.
Prior to Brooklyn's loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, Irving posted a link on his Twitter page to a streaming hub for a 2018 film titled "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America." The movie is based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Ronald Dalton Jr., who also directed the film.
The film and book are filled with anti-Semitic disinformation, according to Rolling Stone's Jon Blistein, adding that Dalton claims in the documentary that "Jewish slave ships" were involved in the slave trade. Blistein also cited a passage from the book that says Jewish people "have claimed that they worship Satan or Lucifer," among several other anti-Semitic examples.
The Nets issued a statement earlier Friday but didn't specifically mention Irving or anti-Semitism.
"The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech," the team said, courtesy of The Athletic. "We believe that in these situations, our first action must be open, honest dialogue. We thank those, including the (Anti-Defamation League), who have been supportive during this time."
As of Saturday, the link promoting the film was still on Irving's Twitter page. The 30-year-old played in Thursday's loss to the Mavericks.
