As the Brooklyn Nets prepare to take on the Washington Wizards Friday night, Kevin Durant spoke to reporters following the team's shootaround in D.C. Durant shared his thoughts on Kyrie Irving's conduct in recent days and the organization's decision to suspend him for a minimum of five games.
"I'm not here to judge somebody or talk down on the life or how they feel their views," Durant said. "I just didn't like anything that went on. I felt like it was all unnecessary. I felt like we could have just kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organization.
"This is the way the NBA is now, media, so many outlets now and their stories hit pretty fast now. So that's where all the chaos is coming from. Everybody has an opinion on the situation, and we're hearing it nonstop."
Durant later took to Twitter to clarify his previous comments:
"Just wanna clarify the statements I made at shootaround, I see some people are confused," Durant wrote. "I don't condone hate speech or anti-semetism, I'm about spreading love always. Our game Unites people and I wanna make sure that's at the forefront."
On Oct. 27, Irving tweeted a link to the film, "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America," which contained numerous antisemitic tropes. When first asked about that tweet on Oct. 29 after the team's loss to the Indiana Pacers, Irving got into an argument with a reporter and did not disavow the film's content. He then did not speak to the media for several days.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver released a statement on Nov. 3 expressing his disappointment that Irving had not apologized, and said he would meet with Irving at a later date. Less than an hour after Silver's statement was released, Irving spoke to reporters for the first time in nearly a week. He did not apologize for his actions and would not give a direct answer when asked if he disavowed antisemitism.
The Nets then decided to suspend Irving without pay for a minimum of five games. In a statement released late on Nov. 3, the Nets wrote, in part, "such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, 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."
Shortly after his suspension was announced, Irving released his own statement on Instagram in which he wrote, in part, "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."
Nets general manager Sean Marks told reporters on Nov. 4 that Irving's apology was a good first step, but the organization wants him to do more before they consider reinstating him. He added that part of that process will be meeting with Jewish leaders. Furthermore, Marks said the team did not consider releasing Irving.
