Kyrie cites 'responsibility,' stops short of apology

NEW YORK -- Kyrie Irving stopped abbreviated of formally apologizing Thursday for his arguable societal media station astir a publication and movie that diagnostic antisemitic tropes -- an apology galore successful the Brooklyn Nets' enactment and the NBA league bureau were hoping to hear.

"I instrumentality my work for posting that," Irving said successful his archetypal nationalist comments since a contentious quality league Saturday night. "Some things that were questionable successful there, untrue. Like I said successful the archetypal clip you guys asked maine erstwhile I was sitting connected that stage, I don't judge everything that everybody posts -- it's a documentary. So I instrumentality my responsibility."

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, successful a connection released minutes earlier Irving spoke, said helium was "disappointed" that Irving has neither apologized nor "specifically denounced the vile and harmful contented contained successful the movie helium chose to publicize." Silver added that helium volition beryllium gathering with Irving successful idiosyncratic wrong the adjacent week.

But Irving stood his crushed again Thursday regarding some his determination to station the nexus to the movie -- which helium has since deleted -- and his postgame comments Saturday night.

"I didn't mean to origin immoderate harm," Irving said. "I'm not the 1 that made the documentary."

Irving spoke for conscionable implicit six minutes Thursday successful a quality league that was chopped abbreviated by a Nets PR staffer. He said that immoderate things successful the movie helium posted astir were untrue but didn't accidental that helium shouldn't person posted a nexus to it and alternatively asked reporters wherefore they weren't asking questions astir the past of Black radical successful America.

"Where were you guys asking those aforesaid questions erstwhile I was a kid learning astir the traumatic events of my familial past and what I'm arrogant to travel from," Irving said, "and arrogant to basal present and wherefore erstwhile I repetition myself that I'm not going to basal down, it has thing to bash with dismissing immoderate different contention oregon radical people.

"I'm conscionable arrogant of my practice and what we've been done and the information that this has pinned maine against the Jewish assemblage and I'm present answering questions of whether oregon not I'm atrocious oregon not astir thing I didn't make and was thing I shared, and I'm telling everybody I'm taking responsibility, past that's wherever I sit."

Irving besides was asked specifically astir his beliefs regarding the Holocaust.

"Those falsehoods are unfortunate," helium said, referring to contented successful the film. "And it's not that I don't judge successful the Holocaust. I ne'er said that. Never, ever person said it. It's not travel retired of my mouth. I ne'er tweeted it. I ne'er liked thing similar it. So the Holocaust successful itself is an lawsuit that means thing to a ample radical of radical that suffered thing that could person been avoided."

When asked specifically whether helium had immoderate antisemitic beliefs, Irving did not straight reply the question.

"Again, I'm going to repeat. I don't cognize however the statement becomes justified due to the fact that you guys inquire maine the aforesaid questions implicit and implicit again," Irving said. "But this is not going to crook into a spin-around rhythm -- questions upon questions.

"I told you guys however I felt. I respect each walks of beingness and clasp each walks of life. That's wherever I sit. ... I cannot beryllium antisemitic if I cognize wherever I travel from."

Irving besides declined to straight reply whether helium met with the Anti-Defamation League, which had released a associated statement Wednesday nighttime with the Nets and Irving.

"I was informed that they wanted to person a meeting, and we handled it," helium said.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said successful a tweet Thursday that the ADL "took [Irving] astatine his connection erstwhile helium said helium took responsibility, but contiguous helium did not marque bully connected that promise."

The reply to the question "Do you person immoderate antisemitic beliefs" is ever "NO" without equivocation. We took @KyrieIrving astatine his connection erstwhile helium said helium took responsibility, but contiguous helium did not marque bully connected that promise. Kyrie intelligibly has a batch of enactment to do. https://t.co/0hQ6pEueOP

Irving and the Nets announced Wednesday that they would each would beryllium donating $500,000 to anti-hate causes. But Silver said successful his connection Thursday that Irving needed to spell further.

"While we admit the information that helium agreed to enactment with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat antisemitism and different forms of discrimination, I americium disappointed that helium has not offered an unqualified apology and much specifically denounced the vile and harmful contented contained successful the movie helium chose to publicize," the commissioner said.

The National Basketball Players Association besides enactment retired a connection this week echoing an earlier connection this week from the league, 1 that did not place Irving. The NBPA besides did not notation Irving, who is simply a vice president of the national and a subordinate of its enforcement committee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.