Kyrie Irving has flirted with various conspiracy theories in the past. The Nets player refused to get vaccinated, resulting in him riding the bench for much of a season, and often drops cryptic and foreboding quotes on his socials like, "Humanity is at war."
Now Irving has promoted some new theories, this time rooted in antisemitism. On his social media accounts, the basketball player posted a link to the film "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America." The movie is based on a book published in 2015 which outlines antisemitic conspiracies devised by Black Israelites.
The book makes various outlandish arguments, including claiming that many successful Jewish people worship the devil. Kyrie didn't elaborate on the link, opting to let it speak for itself.
The Nets organization quickly condemned Irving's posts. Owner Joe Tsai wrote in a statement on Friday (October 29), "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."
The Nets also released a statement via the New York Post. "The Brooklyn Nets strongly condemn and have no tolerance for the promotion of any form of hate speech," the organization said. "We believe that in these situations, our first action must be open, honest dialogue. We thank those, including the ADL [Anti-Defamation League], who have been supportive during this time."
Kyrie has echoed other bigots in the past. Back in September, he reposted a rant from Alex Jones about the "New World Order." Jones had made the tirade in 2002, but apparently Kyrie thought the right-wing provocateur's arguments about how a "plague" would soon be "upon us" was pertinent to today.
Irving now joins the unenviable ranks of Kanye West, who also has been under fire for his ongoing antisemitic remarks.
