‘I Delete a Lot of Things’: Kyrie Irving Deletes Apology for Sharing Antisemitic Video

Newly minted Dallas Mavericks player Kyrie Irving has reignited the controversy over his posting of an antisemitic video by deleting the apology he made for having posted the video.

At the end of Oct., Irving posted an Amazon link to the 2018 film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.

The film claims to reveal “the true identity of the Children of Israel” and expose “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 post came on the heels of an earlier controversy when Irving posted a video by the much-maligned Alex Jones.

Irving soon suffered a suspension from the Brooklyn Nets in November for posting a video produced by the Black Israelites, a widely known antisemitic group. Irving also lost his Nike sponsorship over the post. And for a short period of time, he refused to disavow the video.

After a week of allowing the issue to roil, Irving finally apologized and insisted that he was not an antisemite.

While it appeared that Irving put the whole incident behind himself, now he has reignited it by going back into his social media and deleting his apology, according to Yahoo Sports.

When asked why he would have deleted the apology, Irving shrugged it off and said he deletes lots of things.

Kyrie on whether he deleted his apology on his IG for originally posting a link to a documentary with anti-Semitic tropes on his Twitter account and saying he does still stand by his apology. pic.twitter.com/SnAm3NpC7o

— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) February 7, 2023

“I delete a lot of things on my Instagram,” Irving said on Tuesday. “I’ve had things that have happened before in my life, probably not as drastic as that moment, which led to a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what I meant and what I stand for. I had to sit up in front of these mikes and explain to the world who I am and I know who I am. I delete things all the time and it’s no disrespect to anyone in the community. Just living my life.”

But Irving added that he stands by his apology despite deleting it.

“I stand by who I am and why I apologized,” he said. “I did it because I care about my family and I have Jewish members of my family who care for me deeply. Did the media know that beforehand before they called me that word antisemitic? No. Did they know anything about my family? No. Everything was put out before I had anything to say. I reacted instead of responding emotionally maturely. I didn’t mean to be defensive or go at anybody. I stand by my apology and I stand by my people.”

For those interested, this was the full apology he recently deleted:

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. 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. 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 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. I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate. I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all. 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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