Tonight marks the second game of Kyrie Irving‘s suspension, and Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports has learned of the requirements established by the Nets that Irving must meet before he can play again.
Sources tell Goodwill that Irving must go before reporters and provide a verbal apology for sharing a link to an antisemitic film. On Thursday, Irving posted a statement on his Instagram account expressing regret for his actions, but management wants him to apologize in person for promoting the film and to indicate that he understands its message is “harmful and untrue.” Irving must share the apology on social media.
Goodwill’s sources say Irving will also be required to complete whatever sensitivity training the team decides is necessary and to meet with Jewish leaders in the Brooklyn area.
Once those requirements are achieved, Irving will have to sit down with owner Joe Tsai and provide a guarantee that he won’t exhibit any more disruptive behavior for the rest of the season, Goodwill adds. This is the final season of Irving’s four-year contract, and he will be a free agent next summer.
An NBA spokesperson told Goodwill that the league wasn’t aware of all the Nets are asking Irving to do before he can be reinstated. The players union declined to comment, Goodwill adds.
Irving will also be required to participate in antisemitic sensitivity classes and to donate $500K to causes that stand up against hate, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Good Lord
500 hours of community service at:
Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Edmond J. Safra Plaza
36 Battery Place
New York, NY 10280
Works for me :)
Hear! Hear!
So, Kyrie is done for the year apparently.
They’re forcing his hand.
Yes, they’re asking him to comport himself as an adult human being respectful of the fans when representing the league he plays in.
They’re demanding he grow up.
They’re a bunch of meanies. Perhaps you can organize some demonstrations and burn some buildings down.
I wasnt insinuating forcing his hand was wrong. Try arguing with someone you disagree with next time.
Yes they forced him to endorse anti Jewish material, not apologize for it when asked to; and then send intermediaries to meet with Jewish leaders because he’s too cowardly
Yes…because that is what I was saying happened. Nice reading comprehension.
One of the difficulties in following professional team sports happens when extremely ignorant, spoiled and fawned over, immature, gullible, and isolated in their little world players with no perspective at all about life fall for rhetoric.
They decide that “people need to be educated” and use their sports platform to do that; not realizing that they usually passed though schools because they played sports while their classmates were truly being educated.
The public isn’t interested in Kyrie Irving’s Kardashian-type need for attention. Fans of sports years ago realized that Kyrie Irving is….well….Kyrie Irving.
Not a fan of Adam Silver – a Commissioner that would love to have 35 separate NBA playoffs each year involving most teams. But now the man has to be a surrogate father to a 30 year-old child.
Is Silver doing this because he’s such a wonderful human being? No. It’s because American sports fans are getting fed up with the NBA and its politicking / proselytizing when fans just want to tune in to see a sporting event (and trust me, the NBA Commissioners office has polls that reflect this). They can and are taking their business elsewhere.
As Barkley said, Kyrie acts as if he’s the smartest guy in the room. But he’s not. His education is limited. He’s not a doctor or scientist who spent years studying material they have expertise in
Because he is super rich he believes he is
So “shut up and dribble”? Nope, thankfully those days are long gone. If people didn’t care this story wouldn’t have made it past ESPN and into the ABC, CBS and NBC nightly news, made it into the non sports sections of The New York Times and The Washington Post or blown up social media.
The NBA has always been at the forefront of social justice causes and actually encourage players and coaches to get involved. It must be working. The last two seasons viewership for opening night, early season games and the NBA finals are higher then they’ve been in 5 years.
Sure some people say they don’t watch the NBA anymore but I’d be willing to bet 75% of those people never watched in the 1st place.
Silver isn’t doing anything as it isn’t really his place. Joe Tsai is doing this because the Nets are getting drug through the mud. I don’t agree with Kyrie’s stance on this but personally I think the Nets are going too far because forced apologies don’t mean crap and they often have the opposite effect of what they’re hoping for. People can see right through it and ardent supporters of Kyrie and Kyrie himself will just dig in their heels.
However, doing nothing and staying silent is seen to be an endorsement. They are saying neutrality is not a moral option, but neither is simple punitive without opportunity to grow.
The Nets aren’t simply punishing Kyrie. They are clearly articulating their organizational values and culture and they are clearly delineating their expectations. The fact that those requirements to return to work include education is a salient point.
I think that Kyrie is interested in learning, but his wealth has created an echo chamber around him that confirms his biases, and he has a chasm of need that is somehow filled by focusing on conspiracies.
The Nets are tired of being the butt of NBA jokes and are taking control of the narrative by asserting their values. It is not just a message to Kyrie, but to other players and future employees.
Poor Kyrie.
so 5 game checks + 500k + 2 second verbal apology to the media + posting said apology on HIS social media (like it wont be all over espn and every other outlet) + sensitivity training + a meeting w. the ADL + a meeting w. the owner. got it
Kyrie will do none of this.
He gone. I just love that he did this all to himself. The arrogance is just staggering.
So when is KD getting traded?
Everybody is acting like this is some kind of horrible punishment for Kyrie. Spare me. The Nets are A) refusing to kowtow to his BS, B) salvaging their public image, which is currently in the toilet of a public restroom where someone has had diarrhea, and C) refusing to accept a complete BS apology. That apology on his Insta was clearly not authored by Kyrie, and he posted it solely to try and make this go away, combined with a financial donation that meant nothing to him. It was faker than a pornstar’s bust. Glad the Nets are finally showing some backbone given how much of a circus they’ve been since Kyrie joined them.
Abella Danger is ALL natural.
Right? Moreover, if he and the Nets would ever get their act together and right the ship, ie make the playoffs and do well there, this would become ancient history for a majority of Nets fans. People act as if he’s been sullied for life. Give me a break.
He’s also built up an increased following as a result of the like-minded ignorant fools who think, or who were inclined to think, the same way he does thanks to this whole situation blowing up. Once his career is over, he’s going to be welcomed with open arms by the right-wing media.
Fans last longer than players, coaches and even owners do. I’ve been a Bucks fan for decades. If a player offends a significant percentage of the fan base then that player better make amends or he will face repercussions because the bottom line is what counts. BKN has Jewish fans openly protesting Kyrie…that’s trouble. Tsai and Silver know it so it needs to be dealt with so (a) BKN can get on with the season and (b) the rot does not spread.
TL/DR: “Kyrie, stop being a d**k.”
– The Nets
Now we know why Amare Stoudamire resigned from his position with the Nets last summer.
Irving next contract will be in China and then let see if he posts something anti-Chinese because if he believe what the Nets are doing to him is wrong just imagine what the Chinese Government will do to him if he posted anti-Chinese opinions on the Net!
Oh, as for those saying Irving has the right to his opinion, well that is true but also he signed a contract and I am willing to bet there is something in there about what he says and does that hurts the franchise and how he will be punished.
Irving career is done in the NBA and will be black listed from the league!
Stop licking the boot that is on your neck.
I’m waiting with bated breath to hear Kyrie’s 100% genuine apology. Well, I guess it will be better than nothing? Sensitivity training accomplishes nothing either – I agree with the community service idea – that gives a real opportunity for growth and does something good for those Kyrie wronged.
So Kyrie’s next career move?
As a beacon of light, perhaps he will found a church for the true Semites.
As far as an in-person apology, get your popcorn ready!
In other words, he’s suspended for life. I’m trying, but it’s hard to imagine him doing anything but digging his heels into his own “free thinking” persona and pouting at home.
What all you kids don’t know is the situation in Brooklyn regarding the Jewish community there and how they’ve been put upon – particularly by radical blacks. Been going on for years.
There have been physical attacks on people, on their property, etc.
This moron just threw gas on the fire.
You guys don’t get it. He can’t just say what he wants. Whatever he posts on Instagram is reflection back on the Brooklyn nets. There’s no way around it.
Guilty By Association so they have to squash it. That’s just how it works, especially for athletes who make 40 million a year. They have to be politically correct. I’m not saying that’s right or proper or the way it should be. It is what it is.
Totally agree that Kyrie should not be ‘forced’ to change his ill-informed beliefs. He should also be responsible enough to know that he needs to be held accountable for them. Seems a lot of people here think you can ‘shout fire in a crowded theater’ with no repercussions. Even if the SCOTUS decides to overturn that precedent too, it will still be the sign of whether someone is an adult and not a man-child insisting that whatever he does is ok.
Let’s again remember that most contracts have a behavior clause which states that you must comply with company policy, in this case the policy to not spout bigoted nonsense.
He can continue all he wants without apology, but he cannot do that and continue to play in the NBA. All the whining here really does not change that fact.
Does Kyrie even wanna play basketball at this point? It seems like he does anything in his power to stay off the court without actually being injured.
This could be. He has a pocket full of money and might be tired of playing by the rules. Probably would just love to travel and do his own thing for 2 years. Then he’ll be hungry and make a comeback.
Interesting… Poor KD, thought he was signing up for a superteam with Harden and Kyrie and then Harden forces his way out, getting traded for a Simmons that doesn’t seem like he wants to play basketball, and now Kyrie doesn’t seem to want to play either… Kyrie did a great job of tanking his own value.
This is the most sense anyone has made in this thread…
I haven’t been following the Kyrie saga… but I’m awfully glad he’s no longer a Cavalier.
Amazon doesn’t represent the Nets, they should represent a company that doesn’t want to sponsor Anti Semitism.