A Black Hebrew Israelite group protested ahead of the Brooklyn Nets game against the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday night in a show of support.
The group members, who all wore purple and gold shirts with “Israel United in Christ,” emblazoned across the front, stood near the Atlantic Avenue subway entrance with a large group as they chanted their messages to the public via a portable sound system.
Irving was placed on a multi-game suspension after repeatedly refusing to apologize or stating that he doesn’t hold antisemitic beliefs. Irving was criticized for promoting the movie, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” the same name as Ronald Dalton Jr.’s 2015 book. The film claims to “uncover the true identity of the Children of Israel by proving the true ethnicity of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the Sons of Ham, Shem and Japheth. Find out 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.”
Irving struggled to make his points effectively, which ultimately led to the athlete offending the entire Jewish. He eventually offered up a series of apologies.
Earlier this month, Irving and the nets announced that they would donate $500,000 to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to help in fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry. Shortly after, the ADL announced they would no longer accept the money because they believed that the player felt “no accountability for his actions.”
This weekend he returned to the court, offering yet another apology during his pregame media availability Sunday.
“I just want to offer my deep apologies to all those who were impacted over these last few weeks, specifically my Jewish relatives, my Black relatives, all races and cultures,” Irving told reporters. “Feel like we all felt an impact and I don’t stand for anything close to hate speech or anti-semitism or anything that is ‘anti,’ going against the human race.”
“I feel it was necessary for me to stand in this place and take accountability for my actions,” Irving said.
