By Canadian Press

Silver wants apology for ‘reckless’ post; Irving offers none

Nov 3, 2022 | 11:21 AM

NEW YORK (AP) — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wants an apology and Kyrie Irving still isn’t going to give one.

Shortly after the NBA Commissioner said Irving “made a reckless decision” by tweeting out a link to a film containing antisemitic material last week, the Brooklyn Nets guard again stopped short of saying he was sorry for doing so.

Irving said some things in “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” were untrue, but he didn’t say he shouldn’t have posted a link to it.

“I’m not the one who made the documentary,” Irving said after the Nets practiced.

Irving again said he meant no harm in posting the tweet — which he has since deleted — but didn’t apologize for doing so and instead asked reporters why they weren’t asking questions about the history of Blacks in America.

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“Where were you guys asking those same questions when I was a kid learning about the traumatic events of my familial history and what I’m proud to come from,” Irving said, “and proud to stand here and why when I repeat myself that I’m not going to stand down, it has nothing to do with dismissing any other race or group people.

“I’m just proud of my heritage and what we’ve been through and the fact that this has pinned me against against the Jewish community and I’m here answering questions of whether or not I’m sorry or not about something I didn’t create and was something I shared and I’m telling everybody I’m taking responsibility, than that’s where I sit.”

Silver’s comments were the second statement the league office has issued on the latest Irving controversy, and the first in which Irving was referenced by name.

Irving and the Nets announced Wednesday, in conjunction with the Anti-Defamation League, that each would be donating $500,000 to anti-hate causes. But Silver felt Irving needed to go further.

“While we appreciate the fact that he agreed to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that he has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize,” Silver said.

Silver added that he will be meeting with Irving in person within the next week. The league’s first statement, clearly in reference to Irving’s tweet, said “hate speech of any kind is unacceptable and runs counter to the NBA’s values of equality, inclusion and respect.”

Earlier this week, the National Basketball Players Association put out similar sentiments. The NBPA also did not mention Irving by name; Irving is a vice president of the union and a member of its executive committee.

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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Brian Mahoney, The Associated Press