Kyrie Irving Nov 1, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) dribbles up court against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

One week after Kyrie Irving shared a controversial film with antisemitic messaging, the Brooklyn Nets are suspending him.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news if Irving‘s suspension on Thursday evening.

The Nets also released a statement a statement on the suspension. The statement indicated Irving’s press conference on Thursday was the final straw.

“We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity – but failed – to clarify.

The statement also said that “We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct and the suspension period is no less than five games.”

 

The reaction to the suspension was generally positive. For several in the NBA world and other fans, one of the major prevailing questions was, what took so long?

Both the NBA and the Nets released widely criticized statements denouncing antisemitism shortly after Irving posted the video. In that time, he was permitted to play, not suspended with pay or even just benched.

But commissioner Adam Silver didn’t get particularly critical of Irving (at least in public) until shortly after his press conference on Thursday. That response came shortly before Brooklyn’s decsion to suspend Irving.

[Adrian Wojnarowski, Brooklyn Nets]

About Michael Dixon

Michael is a writer and editor for The Comeback Media. He is Bay Area native living in the Indianapolis area. Michael is also a big nerd when it comes to sports history and to a slightly lesser extent, all history. Beyond that, loves tacos, pizza and random Seinfeld quotes.

Feel free to voice your agreements or disagreements. If you do so respectfully, Michael will gladly respond in kind.

Twitter: @mfdixon1985 (mostly personal but a lot of sports)/@mdixonsports (All work/sports related)

Email: mdixon@thecomeback.com