NBA players’ union is expected to APPEAL Kyrie Irving’s ban over ‘anti-Semitic’ Twitter post

Kyrie Irving has been banned for three games for at least five games for his alleged support for an anti-Semitic film, but the players’ union is considering an appeal because the ban is too strict.

The Brooklyn Nets last week suspended the star point guard after he tweeted a link to a movie featuring anti-Semitic tropes and even quoted Adolf Hitler discussing the existence of an alleged Jewish conspiracy for world domination. Irving issued a belated apology after his suspension, but only after several controversial exchanges with the media. In one instance, he told reporters, “I’m not going to back down from anything I believe in.”

Unhappy with Irving’s response, Nets owner Joe Tsai and CEO Sean Marks issued a minimum five-game suspension for Irving, stipulating that he must comply with “a set of objective remedial actions that address the harmful effects of his behavior.” ‘ before he can return to the team.

But the NBA Players Association is now expected to appeal, said union vice president Jaylen Brown.

In question, Brown told the Boston Globeis that the NBA collective bargaining agreement does not provide guidelines for player penalties for posting to social media.

“There’s an interesting distinction between what someone says verbally and what someone posts as a link on a platform without a description behind it,” Brown said. “Some people will argue that there is no difference and some people will argue that there is a difference. There is no language in our SCBA. There are no rules against it. This is unexplored territory for everyone and everyone is trying to discover the difference between the two.’

Brown also defended Irving, his former teammate, against charges of anti-Semitism.

“I don’t believe Kyrie Irving is anti-Semitic,” Brown said. “I don’t think people in our governing bodies think he’s anti-Semitic. He made a mistake. We understand from an external perspective how important sensitivity is not to condone hate speech and to condone anything of that nature.

‘It is the sensitivity to the surrounding dialect. We don’t want to stand up for anyone not to condemn hate speech, but I don’t believe Kyrie Irving is anti-Semitic. And hopefully the NBA feels the same.”

This is the second time in recent weeks that Brown has spoken out about the controversy over anti-Semitism. Last month, the Celtics star broke off his business relationship with Donda Sport over anti-Semitic comments from its founder, rapper Kanye West.

According to a report in the athleticIrving must complete six steps before being seen in a Nets uniform again.

One step — an apology for linking to the film — appears to have already been completed with the statement he posted on Instagram Thursday night, which came after The Nets said he had been banned for at least five games.

Irving must also complete the anti-hate causes the Nets first mentioned on Nov. 2. It included a $500,000 donation to the Anti-Defamation League, but last week its CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, said the organization could not accept the money while Irving declined to apologize. .

The third step would be for Irving to complete sensitivity training and step four would be to complete anti-Semitic and hate training – both of which were created by the Nets.

Step five involves Irving meeting Jewish community leaders in Brooklyn and then, in step six, he would meet with Tsai to show what he has learned.

NBPA chairman CJ McCollum said: the athletic that the union is trying to move forward on the issue, albeit cautiously.

“We’ve been in a lot of contact all week about this matter, and we think it’s best to step back and think twice before doing anything,” said McCollum, a New Orleans Pelicans guard. “I personally think it’s important for me to continue gathering more information, but it’s also important for me to keep the situation unfolding.”

McCollum’s Pelicans teammate is another executive committee member, Garrett Temple, who told the Athletic he believes Irving’s apology is enough.

“First of all, we condemn any anti-Semitism or any form of discrimination, any form of hate speech,” Temple said. ‘Kyrie went on his’ [Instagram] page and apologized. He had a fair apology in my opinion,” Garrett Temple, Pelicans veteran and executive committee member, told The Athletic. “He is responsible for his actions. In the end, we let it run its course. We’re going to make sure everyone knows that we’re not against hate speech at all, no matter how things go.’

Irving also had support from Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon.

“Absolutely, and we know Kyrie is a good person,” Brogdon told The Athletic. “He came back, he apologized, and whatever happens, it’s going to happen now.”

“I know Kyrie personally, I know he’s not a racist, I know he’s not against people,” McCollum added. “Overall, he was a beacon of light and continued to think of ways to provide not only educational opportunities but also resources for people from all walks of life.”

Irving is also a member of the executive committee and will be re-elected during February’s All-Star break. McCollum will preside over that election.

“I’m sure there are things I wish I could have handled differently regarding the situation, including Kyrie,” McCollum said. “But we’re moving forward now and I think we’re going in the right direction and hopefully we can put all these things behind us and continue to educate ourselves about a lot of things that have continued to happen and ways that the Jewish community has been affected and come up with ways to help people continue to show our support from all walks of life.

“Know that we are here to help them, that we are here to condemn any hatred towards them.”