Nick Cannon Calls Kyrie's Situation With The Nets 'Dehumanizing' As Team Forces Irving To Prove He's Not Anti-Semitic With 'Six Steps'
The Brooklyn Nets have put Kyrie Irving through the wringer for sharing a link to a movie deemed by many as "antisemitic." Among Irving's punishments was a five-game minimum suspension, without pay, and a laundry list of tasks Kyrie must complete — to prove he is not antisemitic — before re-joining the team.
While the general sports media celebrated the Nets' decision to throw the rulebook at Irving, figures in and around the game have increasingly sided with Irving, calling the Nets' punishment too harsh.
The latest Irving supporter to come out is celebrity / Father of the Year Nick Cannon, who called the ultimatums set by Brooklyn "dehumanizing."
Cannon didn't share this opinion with just anyone. He expressed it before Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.
Greenblatt was critical in the Irving backlash after deciding to reject a $500,000 donation pledged by the Nets guard. The CEO stated that Irving's unwillingness to apologize for advertising the "antisemitic film" offset any good intended with the donation.
KYRIE IRVING APOLOGIZES ON INSTAGRAM AFTER ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE REJECTS $500K DONATION, SUSPENSION
"I can wholeheartedly say I know Kyrie Irving is not anti-Semitic," Cannon told Greenblatt, as relayed by the Daily Mail.
"When given the chance to say are you anti-Semitic or not, he didn't say 'No I'm not' — at the press conference he said, 'Stop dehumanizing me,'" Greenblatt responded, referring to an interview where Kyrie refused to apologize for accusations of antisemitism. Irving told reporters that he cannot apologize for an offense or identity he is not responsible for.
Cannon Compares Irving's Punishment To Slave Treatment
Cannon replied, "So in that statement — those are the tropes that dehumanize Jewish people — the same 'buck-breaking,'" referring to the Nets' six steps assigned to Kyrie before he can return to action.
Cannon described Kyrie's punishment as a form of slave punishment. "The slave masters would bring the buck, the one that gets out of line, so all the other slaves would see lash after lash, showed them the power to set an example," Cannon said. "This is what you must do to fall in line."
Those steps include, as relayed by The Athletic's Shams Charania:
- Apologize / condemn the promotion of the film (Hebrew to Negroes: Wake Up Black America)
- $500,000 donation to anti-hate causes or charities
- Sensitivity training
- Antisemitic training
- Meet with the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish community leaders
- Undergo an assessment by Nets owner Joe Tsai
JAYLEN BROWN GETS BLOWBACK AFTER SAYING KYRIE ISN'T ANTISEMITIC; IRVING MEETS WITH NBA COMMISSIONER
NBPA, WHOSE VICE PRESIDENT IS KYRIE IRVING, RELEASES OBVIOUS STATEMENT DENOUNCING ANTISEMITISM
Irving has made efforts to check off items on that list, including sending out an official apology and decrying his promotion of the film; meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver; and previously offering a donation to the ADL.
On Tuesday, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown — who serves as NBPA vice president, alongside Irving — called the Nets' steps "too harsh" on Kyrie.
Stay tuned with OutKick as the story develops