“Support the anti-war effort”: Kyrie Irving urges people to join hands to try and stop Israel-Palestine violence after Nets win last night

The Brooklyn Nets emerged victorious in their penultimate game of the season today, but Kyrie Irving has his mind elsewhere.

Kyrie returned to action today after sustaining a face injury, scoring 22 points as the Nets took an easy win over the Chicago Bulls. But on the day of the 2020 Hall of Fame induction, basketball was not foremost on his mind.

The 29-year-old used the post-game presser as an opportunity to speak about something on everyone’s minds. Tensions between Israel and Palestine are peaking once again over the past few days.

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This all began with a raid on a holy Palestinian mosque by Israeli officials before Ramadan. It has since escalated into the worst cross-border violence between the two factions in years. Officials have reported an estimated 139 Palestinian casualties and 8 Israelis dead.

Kyrie Irving urges everyone to take the path of peace amidst Palestine conflicts

As a recently-converted Muslim, one wouldn’t blame Kyrie for picking a side in this conflict. The Nets guard, however, understands his role as an ambassador of the game.

His statements reflect the maturity that is required of a player in such a situation. One of his major statements was: “There’s a lot of dehumanization going on…If you’re a human being, then you support the anti-war effort that is going on.”

As marches around the world are held today in solidarity with Palestinians, Kyrie Irving used his press conference to discuss Palestine and Israel. In part: “There’s a lot of dehumanization going on…If you’re a human being, then you support the anti-war effort that is going on”

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) May 15, 2021

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In times when Israel has been razing buildings to the ground in Palestine and Hamas fires rockets at them, it’s easy to get carried away and call for violence against one faction. But violence has only ever helped those in power.

We all need to think more like Kyrie. It is tough to condone violence based on religious intolerance.