NBPA, Whose Vice President Is Kyrie Irving, Releases Obvious Statement Denouncing Antisemitism
One more time for the people in the back: antisemitism is bad! On Tuesday, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) came out with its own statement regarding Kyrie Irving's recent social media post.
Irving posted about a racially-charged film that's been dubbed antisemitic, which caused a tsunami of backlash against the Nets guard, despite him never outright expressing such an inane ideology (à la Kanye West).
The NBPA's statement did not name Irving in its condemnation of antisemitism, and after a weeklong barrage of We Stand Against Hate declarations, it was their turn to take a seat on the Irving hostility train.
Also worth noting: Kyrie Irving is the Vice President of the NBPA — maybe vet those hires more extensively next time?
"Anti-Semitism has no place in our society," the Association declared, taking their chance to state the obvious.
"The NBPA is focused on creating an environment where everyone is accepted," the statement continued. "We are committed to helping players fully understand that certain words can lead to hateful ideologies being spread. We will continue to work on identifying and combating all hate speech wherever it arises.”
For the past several days, nearly every pillar of the NBA media has relished in its messaging against "hate," even if it has sounded like a guise to keep squabbling with Kyrie after a year of being at odds over vaccines.
They wanted Irving to beg for forgiveness then, and they're back to it this time around.
The NBA Media Hates Kyrie Irving
Take it from Brooklyn Nets teammate Kevin Durant, who admitted that none of the controversies surrounding Kyrie -- especially the current one -- have affected the team in the same capacity that the NBA media promotes it.
Kyrie's teammates seem to understand that Irving had no intention of promoting violence or hate against Jewish people. Chances are the tweet would not have received as much attention or "promotion" had the media not extensively highlighted it, but here we are again.
The fake piety is getting old.
The NBA loves to wax poetic on how they are advancing social justice and equality for all, while happily staying on the sidelines when the topic of China arises. Standing against hate sounds cool until one of your greatest benefactors is caught enslaving 12 million Uyghur Muslims, then it's a non-issue.
Nets team governor Joe Tsai had a similar statement to the NBPA's. He condemned Kyrie and called his platform hateful — sounding no different than a reporter on assignment by ESPN; yet he remains Tsai-lent on China's ongoing human rights violations. So, antisemitism = bad. Genocide of Muslims, no problem. Got it.
One day after Nets coach Steve Nash spoke to reporters voicing the importance of his team staying unified amid the scandal, he got the boot. He was also a terrible coach, but that's beside the point. The timing is still interesting, if unrelated.
Unity over hate ... not a bad message to promote. But the problem with Nash's comments was the lack of buzzwords that the Association has been flaunting in its quest to appear like the "bigger man" in the Irving situation.
TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley highlighted the Kyrie controversy on Tuesday. He called out league commissioner Adam Silver directly, saying it's his responsibility as a Jewish man to punish Kyrie. Possibly with a suspension.
The NBA and its media continue to shell out vapid statements.