The 'Donda' artist voices his support to the NBA player after his team Brooklyn Nets releases a statement about five-game suspension following his anti-Semitic tweet.
- Nov 4, 2022
AceShowbiz - Kanye West is railing behind Kyrie Irving amid controversy over the latter's anti-Semitic social media post. The "Donda" artist voiced support to the NBA player after Brooklyn Nets suspended him without pay over "failure to disavow antisemitism."
When making return to Twitter after being restricted from Instagram due to his anti-Semitic comment, Ye shared his opinions on Kyrie's suspension. Sharing a press release from Nets, Ye defended the basketballer, tweeting on Thursday, November 3, "This in [sic] not hate. We are love. God is love."
The official statement from Nets stated that Kyrie's suspension will last a minimum of five games. "Over the last several days, we have made repeated attempts to work with Kyrie Irving to help him understand the harm and danger of his actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing anti-Semitic hate," the team's statement read.
"We believed that taking the path of education in this challenging situation would be the right one and thought that we had made progress with our joint commitment to eradicating hate and intolerance," it continued. "We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he had no anti-Semitic beliefs. This was not the first time he had the opportunity, but failed, to clarify."
The statement added, "Such failure to disavow anti-Semitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team." The team went on to conclude that Kyrie "is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets."
A few minutes after sharing his thoughts on Kyrie's suspension, Ye shared a screenshot of Fox News' headline that read, "Shaq rips Kyrie Irving over antisemitism controversy, calls him an 'idiot.' " Along with the screengrab, the former husband of Kim Kardashian said, "They make us bully ourselves because of our business alignments."
Over the weekend, Ye showed support to Kyrie on Instagram. "There's some real ones still here," the Yeezy designer wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of the 30-year-old basketballer.
Not stopping there, Ye also shared a clip from Kyrie's press conference, during which Kyrie insisted that he didn't owe anyone an apology for his behavior, along with a bible verse. "JOHN 19:19, 'And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.' "
Kyrie landed in hot water after promoting "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America" documentary, a movie that is said to promote anti-Semitism, on October 27 via Twitter. After facing intense backlash and being called out by Nets owner and the NBA, Kyrie insisted that he's "not going to stand down on anything I believe in."
Interestingly, on Wednesday, November 2, Kyrie and his team announced that they will each donate $500,000 "toward causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities."
The statement, issued on the official NBA website, also claimed Kyrie will "work with ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), a nonprofit organization devoted to fighting antisemitism and all types of hate that undermine justice and fair treatment for every individual."
In a personal statement along with the announcement, Kyrie said he opposes "all forms of hatred and oppression and [stands] strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day." The basketball pro continued, "I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility."
