Brooklyn Nets announce suspension of guard Kyrie Irving

The Brooklyn Nets have suspended guard Kyrie Irving for at least five games without pay, the Nets have announced.

Irving’s suspension comes following the promotion of a film with blatant antisemitic references. The Nets and Irving had announced Wednesday night that both parties would both be donating $500,000 each to the Anti-Defamation League to help combat intolerance in communities across the county.

The Duke product had been averaging 26.9 points per game, 12th best in the NBA this season. Brooklyn sits at 2-6 thus far on the early season.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Read the Nets statement on the matter below:

“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 an actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate. 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.

“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. This was not the first time he had the opportunity – but failed – to clarify.

“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 ar elf the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets. We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct and the suspension period served in no less than five games.”