Adam Silver has put out a statement on Kyrie Irving recently, saying he is disappointed in the fact that the Nets guard has not issued a proper apology to the Jewish community. Irving, during his last press conference, got into a war of words with Nick Friedell and did not offer up an apology.
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Instead, he ended his interview asking people to focus on black women’s reproductive rights rather than what he tweets out. However, when the movie you promote has several antisemitic tropes and quotes from Hitler, that becomes a problem, especially when you’re a man with millions of followers.
Charles Barkley has even criticized the NBA, claiming they ‘dropped the ball’ by not suspending Kyrie for what he has done. It seems as though the NBA didn’t see his actions to be disrespectful enough to warrant a suspension.
Is Adam Silver Jewish?
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is Jewish. In fact, the NBA’s previous Commissioner, David Stern, was also Jewish. So, when the press release came out about Silver meeting up with Irving to discuss this matter further, it should be noted that the latter will be sitting down with a man that he has directly impacted with his actions.
One silver lining, sort of, in this situation is that both the Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie Irving will be donating $500,000 each to the Anti-Defamation League. The Nets’ Joe Tsai also took to Twitter earlier this week to condemn his star point guard’s actions.
While it is known that Adam Silver is of Jewish-American heritage, he has not publicly spoken about it. However, him being a Jewish man will certainly help in trying to get Irving to understand what he has done wrong.
Will the NBA suspend Kyrie Irving?
As stated prior, the NBA has decided against suspending Kyrie Irving. However, with him having donated $500,000 and him now sitting down with the Commissioner, it’s safe to say that a suspension isn’t looking likely in Kyrie’s future.
Though, if he does stand his ground and does not issue a public and formal apology to the Jewish community, it wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest if he does get suspended.
