NBA boss Silver pushes for Irving anti-semitism apology

Kyrie Irving, #11 of the Brooklyn Nets, looks on from the bench during the second quarter of the game against the Chicago Bulls at Barclays Center on November 01, 2022 in New York City. (Dustin Satloff/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP)
Kyrie Irving, #11 of the Brooklyn Nets, looks on from the bench during the second quarter of the game against the Chicago Bulls at Barclays Center on November 01, 2022 in New York City. (Dustin Satloff/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP)

NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he will meet with Kyrie Irving in the next week to push for an apology from the Brooklyn Nets star for publicizing antisemitic material.

The move comes a day after Irving announced he will make a $500,000 donation to groups working to eradicate hate and admitted a film slammed as antisemitic which he boosted on social media had a “negative impact” on the Jewish community.

Irving ignited a firestorm of controversy last week after posting a social media link to “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” — a 2018 film widely lambasted for containing a range of antisemitic tropes that was criticized by, among others, Nets owner Joe Tsai.

Silver, however, wants to see more from Irving than what he delivered in a statement announcing the donation, including an apology for his actions and the denouncing of the antisemitic content in the film.

“Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film containing deeply offensive antisemitic material,” Silver says.

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