Kyrie Irving has come under the scanner for non-basketball reasons less than a month into the new NBA season after getting in hot water for sharing an anti-semitic film on his Twitter. This led his team owner Joe Tsai to issue a statement distancing themselves from what Kyrie was endorsing.
In the last few days, Irving has been bashed in the media by multiple popular figures, including Shaquille O’Neal, Raja Bell, and others. However, someone has come to Irving’s support, but it might be a worse association for Kyrie right now than anybody else, as it is Kanye West. West tweeted out a black-and-white picture of the Nets’ point guard.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1588047767561449473
West is in deep trouble for spreading Anti-Semitic messages himself but in a far more explicit manner than Irving. West’s recent statements have caused multiple partners like Adidas, GAP, and Balenciaga cut ties with him completely. Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown also was forced to leave Kanye’s sports agency in the wake of everything West had said. Irving probably doesn’t want this sort of endorsement, even though this is the second time Kanye has posted in Kyrie’s support
Can The Nets Just Move On From Another Kyrie Irving Controversy?
With the Nets’ struggles on the court, they really have very little reason to keep Kyrie Irving on the team this season. While trade calls are coming back unreturned to the Nets, the stress of this situation is ultimately what forced the organization into firing Steve Nash after his 2-5 start, which became 2-6 for the Nets on the season in the first post-Nash game.
Irving has made the right moves so far by apologizing for his actions and pledging $500,000 to anti-hate organizations. He also had a positive interaction with Jewish fans that had come to watch the Nets play against the Chicago Bulls on the day before. It’ll be interesting to see how Irving finishes out his final year on contract with the Nets.
