Kyrie Irving has been under fire since he tweeted a link to an anti-Semitic movie to his 4.5 million Twitter followers last week.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving will no longer speak to reporters Tuesday as the Brooklyn Nets decide how best to respond to the fallout from the star guard posting a link to an anti-Semitic movie on social media.
Irving defended himself and his right to post whatever he believes after the Nets game on Saturday, and general manager Sean Marks said the team doesn’t want to cause additional “fuss” by Irving speaking again after Tuesday’s game.
“I think everybody knows he’s going to have to answer those questions at some point, and he hasn’t shied away from it in the past,” Marks said. “But I think the last meeting after the game didn’t go well and we’re not trying to cover it up, I think that’s something that needs to be addressed, but let’s deal with it in the right way.”
Marks said the Irving controversy was not the catalyst for the team to let go of coach Steve Nash on Tuesday. But it’s another headache for a team that is struggling on the pitch and driving fans off it. Some wore “Fight Anti-Semitism” shirts while sitting courtside at the Nets’ win over Indiana on Monday.
“Look, it’s understandable. I’m totally sensitive to what’s going on here,” Marks said. “I’m certainly not proud of the situation we’re in, you know?”
Irving, who deleted the tweet on Sunday, did not speak to the media after Monday’s game.
Marks said the organization is talking to the Anti-Defamation League for advice on the best course of action with Irving. Irving will continue to play in the meantime, but won’t talk for at least one more game.
“At some point he’s going to come here and do media again, but I think at this point we don’t want to make more of a fuss right now, more interaction with people,” Marks said. “Let’s let it simmer and let… I guess let cooler minds prevail. We have to go out and educate ourselves, educate the whole group and get a direction, ask the experts, and one of them is of course the LKD.”
