UPDATE: Following Kyrie Irving's suspension from the Brooklyn Nets, the basketball player has said he's "deeply sorry."
"While doing research on YHWH, I posted a Documentary that contained some false anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion, and I take full accountability and responsibly for my actions," his message, posted to Instagram Nov. 3, began. "I am grateful to have a big platform to share knowledge and I want to move forward by having an open dialogue to learn more and grow from this."
"To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize," he continued. "I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary. I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against Anti- semticism [sic] by apologizing for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the Documentary I agreed with and disagreed with."
Irving added that he didn't intent to perpetuate hate or disrespect the Jewish history, specifically regarding the Holocaust.
"I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all," he concluded. "I am no different than any other human being. I am a seeker of truth and knowledge, and I know who I Am."
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Basketball player Kyrie Irving has been put on the sidelines.
The Brooklyn Nets announced Nov. 3 that Irving has been suspended from the team without pay after the 30-year-old's inaction to condemn antisemitism. The move comes after Irving linked to the 2018 movie Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America that contained rhetoric against Jewish people in a since-deleted tweet, per NBC News.
"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 words and actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate," the team said in a statement. "We believed that taking the path of education in this challenging situation would be the right one and thought that we had made progress with our joint commitment to eradicating hate and intolerance."
However, Irving's repeated failure to denounce antisemitism has resulted in the team suspending the player for at least five games, the organization said.
"We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film," the statement continued. "This was not the first time he had the opportunity—but failed—to clarify."
The team added that "such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing" and that the behavior "is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team."
"Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets," the team said, adding that Irving will become an active player again once "he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct."
In response to the initial controversy, Irving tweeted on Oct. 29 that he did not mean to offend anyone's religion.
"I am an OMNIST and I meant no disrespect to anyone's religious beliefs," he wrote. "The 'Anti-Semitic' label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday. I embrace and want to learn from all walks of life and religions."
E! News has reached out to Irving's rep for comment but hasn't heard back.
This story was originally published Thu, Nov 3, 2022, 7:11 p.m.