LeBron James minced no words when he shed light on the Kyrie Irving controversy that saw the Brooklyn Nets point guard suspended for five games at least.
While he did subsequently issue an apology on social media, his move of promoting an antisemitic film on Twitter saw him garner major flak from the team’s front office and players — former and present.
Speaking on former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate James, after the Los Angeles Lakers loss to the Utah Jazz, told reporters that he believed what Irving did caused harm.
Full transcript of LeBron James’ answers tonight condemning Kyrie Irving’s social media posts and subsequent statements as “harmful”: pic.twitter.com/O1mC4o5d6E
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 5, 2022
I can tell you, it’s simple. Me personally, I don’t condone any hate to any kind, to any race, to Jewish communities, to Black communities, to Asian communities. You guys know where I stand. And that’s part of the reason why I didn’t air ‘The Shop’ Episode, why we kicked that out of the archives. Because it was hate conversation going down there. And I don’t represent that.
He further added:
There’s no place in this world for it. Nobody can benefit from that and I what Kyrie did caused a lot of harm to a lot of people. And he has since, over the last — I think it was today, or yesterday — he apologized. But he caused some harm, and I think it’s unfortunate.
But I don’t stand in the position to harm people when it comes to your voice on your platform. So it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, how tall you are, what position you are in. If you’re promoting or soliciting or saying harmful things to any community, then I don’t respect it, I don’t condone it.”
James hoped that Irving would understand the consequences of his actions. The guard didn’t suit up for the Nets clash against the Washington Wizards.
Nike Suspends Relationship With Kyrie Irving
Following his suspension from Brooklyn, Kyrie Irving’s relationship with Nike was suspended as well after the sports giant pulled out, also adding that the new signature Kyrie 8’s would not be rolled out.
While he will be sitting out for another four games, it’s a no-brainer that Irving will not be sporting the new kicks which he unofficially wore throughout the season. In their statement, Nike said
“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antesemitism. To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8. We are deeply saddened a disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
Only time will tell how Irving will manage to make amends — not just with his team but also with the Nets fanbase.
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