I knew this situation would divulge into an utter mess. The Brooklyn Nets have clearly had enough of Kyrie Irving as they have suspended their star for a minimum of 5 games, though Irving’s newest apology might just save him from complete ruin.
Everyone knew that Kyrie Irving was playing with fire when he doubled down repeatedly during the post-shootaround by not outright condemning antisemitism, but rather go on some tirade about how he ‘couldn’t be antisemitic if he knew where he came from’ (that’s paraphrasing, but more or less the gist of it).
In fact, Irving probably did more harm in that one interview than he did with his original post as he not only refused to back down from the antisemitic beliefs in the film, but he also continued to be stubborn in the face of repentance after he was already contacted by the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), the Nets owner Joe Tsai, the Nets GM Sean Marks, and the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Thus, Irving has now been suspended and fined 5-games worth of pay for, obviously, the next 5 games of the Nets season. Plus, the ADL has already come out and denounced Irving again and refused his apology, while Adam Silver now will meet with Irving at the start of next week. In other words, Kyrie is in for a world of hurt as his very career might be on the line.
Like I talked about yesterday, the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver had to prevent one extremely devastating thing from happening: sponsors pulling out of the NBA.
If Kyrie Irving and his comments/stubbornness was not addressed, the NBA could have seriously been looking at huge amounts of revenue lost due to the actions and words of one ignorant, stubborn player.
So, it was inevitable that Irving would get suspended by either the league or his own team. Yet, the only thing still left up in the air is Kyrie Irving’s future in the NBA.
Clearly, Irving is not going to be a Nets player when his contract expires this offseason (it’s honestly for the best that both parties divorce), and the Nets may not even allow him to come back from his suspension despite his long apology he released yesterday. But, he’s definitely talented enough to still be a starting guard in the NBA, which will attract other teams to bid on him come free agency.
Nonetheless, if Kyrie Irving didn’t apologize, which he thankfully did after the suspension news broke, then I don’t see how Adam Silver would allow any other franchise to hire his services. He’s too much of a loose cannon.
Anyway, Kyrie Irving’s NBA fate is going to come down to the meeting he will have with Silver and his ability to keep his mouth shut about these extremely divisive political/religious issues for the rest of the season. If the meeting goes well and he’s able to stay quiet, then the Nets should be able to bring him back from suspension.
If not…well, we might have seen the last of Kyrie.
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