Kyrie Irving Appears To Address Antisemitism Controversy

Kyrie Irving broke his silence about his suspension on Twitter, Sunday.

BYCole Blake
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Chicago Bulls v Brooklyn Nets

Kyrie Irving seemed to address his recent suspension from the Brooklyn Nets on Twitter, Sunday. The star point guard remarked that he believes everyone is "equal under the sun."

"I was not put here on earth to participate in any religious/political wars or incite racial disharmony/prejudice within communities," Irving began his tweet. "We are all equal under the sun and I am here to participate in the building of an Equal world and follow the Word from the Most High/GOD/YAH."

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 27: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets poses for a photograph during Media Day at HSS Training Center on September 27, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

The post comes after Nets owner Joe Tsai confirmed that Irving would not be playing in Sunday's game against the Lakers.

“He has to show people that he’s sorry,” Tsai said over the weekend, before adding, “What’s important — and what people miss — is he only apologized after he was suspended.”

On the other hand, Irving's former Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown took issue with Tsai's statement on Twitter.

"This response is alarming for multiple reasons," Brown wrote of the statement.

Irving’s former Cavalier teammate, LeBron James, has also chimed in on the matter.

“I don’t condone any hate to any kind. To any race. To Jewish communities, to Black communities, to Asian communities. You guys know where I stand,” James said on Friday night.

Controversy originally surrounded Irving after he shared a link to an antisemitic film on Twitter, last month. The Nets suspended him for the post as well as refusing to apologize.

The suspension was for a minimum of five games, but Irving will miss his sixth game on Sunday night. The team has reportedly provided him with a list of six steps to complete before he can return.

Check out Kyrie Irving's tweet below.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.