The Nets finally stopped enabling Kyrie Irving and suspended him for spreading antisemitic tropes and refusing to apologize.
But Irving's fellow NBA players are still tacitly endorsing his dangerous nonsense. The mercurial point guard remains a vice president of the NBA Players Association's executive committee.
This is the man they want speaking on their behalf?
Irving finally apologized late Thursday for promoting an antisemitic movie on his social media accounts, but it took a lot of handwringing for him to capitulate: an indefinite suspension, castigation from the Anti-Defamation League, multiple press conferences and nearly one week of unrelenting public pressure.
On Instagram, Irving said he posted a documentary, "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America," that contains "some false anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that [is] untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion." Irving added that he "takes full accountability and responsibility" for his actions.
That's quite a different approach than Irving took nine hours earlier, when he was once again indignant with reporters about his role in spreading hate. Before Nets PR cut Irving's six-minute session short, he refused to condemn antisemitism and failed to say whether the Holocaust happened. When Irving was asked whether the Holocaust occurred, he described it as an "event that means something to a large group of people that suffered something that could have been avoided."
In other words, his answer is probably "no."
But fear not: Irving said he can't be antisemitic, because he "knows where he comes from," echoing the antisemitic trope that Black people are the true children of Israel.
Irving has completed his descent from basketball virtuoso to full-blown conspiracy theorist, a transformation that was finalized last year when he refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19, missing most of Brooklyn's home games in the process.
But Irving's peers, including Kevin Durant, don't seem to mind his erratic behavior. They elected him as an NBPA vice president position in 2020, right as he was trying to organize a player boycott of the NBA bubble.
The following season, Irving missed several Nets games without explanation.
Apparently, being accountable to one's teammates isn't a prerequisite when it comes to leadership in the NBPA.
The Nets come off looking horrible in this saga. They didn't suspend Irving until Thursday, and in the process, helped him avoid the media for two days. On Monday, fans wearing "Fight Antisemitism" t-shirts sat in the front row of Barclays Center for Brooklyn's game against the Pacers.
The following day, the Nets fired Steve Nash and reportedly hired Ime Udoka, whom the Celtics suspended for alleged sexual misconduct.
What a team!
But at least the Nets finally acted. The NBPA has been silent, only releasing a vague statement about how "anti-semitism has no place in our society." Irving wasn't mentioned.
Reggie Miller called out NBA players for not speaking up. "If you're gonna call out owners, and rightfully so, then you've got to call out players as well," he said on TNT. "You can't go silent in terms of this for Kyrie Irving. I want to hear the players and their strong opinions as well, just as we heard about Robert Sarver and Donald Sterling."
One of those players who could speak up is Jaylen Brown. The Celtics star is also a vice president in the NBPA.
But maybe that's expecting too much. Brown initially opted to stay with Kanye West's marketing agency, Donda Sports, following the rapper's antisemitic posting spree a couple of weeks ago. (Brown finally reversed course last Friday.)
So far, seemingly every NBA player is opting to stick with Irving. Their silence reads as support.
