Rapper and former fashion mogul Kanye West publicly defended Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving after the team suspended him for not adequately apologizing after he posted an antisemitic film.
Irving came under fire late last week after posting a link to a film that was based on a book containing antisemitic disinformation. In a statement on Thursday, the Brooklyn Nets said that Irving’s suspension will last as many as five games after he failed to understand the “harm and danger of his actions.”
“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 said.
In response to the suspension, West ranted on Twitter about how “they” make black stars attack each other and specifically singled out former Brooklyn Nets coach Amar’e Stoudemire, who converted to Judaism after living in Israel in 2020. West also targeted former Lakers champion Shaquille O’Neal for calling Irving an “idiot.”
In another post, Kanye West alleged that Shaq does business with Jamie Salter, a Jewish man, implying that Salter cheats black men out of good contracts.
As Breitbart News reported, Kyrie Irving came under fire last week when he referenced the 2018 film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, which peddles antisemitic conspiracy theories and promotes Black Hebrew Israelite ideology.
The film highlighted “the true identity of the Children of Israel” and “what Islam, Judaism, and Christianity has covered up for centuries in regards to the true biblical identity of the so-called ‘Negro’ in this movie packed with tons of research.”
The film also alleges that Arab slave traders and white people have lied to blacks about their “true” history as the real Israelites in order to keep black people enslaved. And its source material is a book filled with antisemitic tropes.
Irving initially deleted his tweet and said he had no antisemitic intent before vowing to donate as much as $500,000 to groups dedicated to combating hate.
However, during a press conference on Thursday, Irving dug himself an even deeper hole when he refused to adequately answer if he holds antisemitic beliefs.
“I cannot be anti-Semitic if I know where I come from,” he said.
Irving also did not disavow the film’s Holocaust denial.