Kyrie, Nets donating $500K to anti-hate causes

NEW YORK -- Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets volition each donate $500,000 successful the aftermath of Irving's arguable societal media station astir a publication and movie that diagnostic antisemitic tropes.

Irving, the Nets and the Anti-Defamation League released a associated connection announcing the donations Wednesday night.

"I reason each forms of hatred and oppression and basal beardown with communities that are marginalized and impacted each day," Irving said successful the statement. "I americium alert of the antagonistic interaction of my station towards the Jewish assemblage and I instrumentality responsibility. I bash not judge everything said successful the documentary was existent oregon reflects my morals and principles. I americium a quality being learning from each walks of beingness and I mean to bash truthful with an unfastened caput and a willingness to listen. So from my household and I, we meant nary harm to immoderate 1 group, contention oregon religion of people, and privation to lone beryllium a beacon of information and light."

Irving initially posted astir the movie, "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America," precocious past week. He defended the station successful a quality league Saturday, saying that helium wouldn't "stand down" connected what helium believes successful portion declining to accidental whether helium held antisemitic beliefs.

"There is nary country for antisemitism, racism, mendacious narratives oregon misguided attempts to make animosity and hate," Sam Zussman, CEO of BSE Global, the genitor institution of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, said successful the associated statement. "Now, much than ever, determination is simply a pressing request to guarantee acquisition successful these areas. We are putting our anterior statements into signifier due to the fact that actions talk louder than words."

Irving's station was condemned by Nets proprietor Joe Tsai, and the NBA responded to it by issuing a connection decrying hatred speech. Irving has not spoken publically since Saturday night, and it remains unclear erstwhile helium volition bash truthful again.

"At a clip erstwhile antisemitism has reached historical levels, we cognize the champion mode to combat the oldest hatred is to some face it head-on and besides to alteration hearts and minds. With this partnership, ADL volition enactment with the Nets and Kyrie to unfastened dialog and summation understanding," Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the ADL, said successful the statement. "At the aforesaid time, we volition support our vigilance and telephone retired the usage of anti-Jewish stereotypes and tropes -- whatever, whoever, oregon wherever the root -- arsenic we enactment toward a satellite without hate."

In the associated statement, the Nets said Irving and the squad volition enactment with the ADL successful "an effort to make acquisition programming that is inclusive and volition comprehensively combat each forms of antisemitism and bigotry."

The Nets besides said they volition proceed to enactment and enactment successful Shine A Light, which they described arsenic "an ongoing inaugural dedicated to spotlighting modern time antisemitism."

"The events of the past week person sparked galore emotions wrong the Nets organization, our Brooklyn community, and the nation," the associated connection said. "The nationalist sermon that followed has brought greater consciousness to the challenges we look arsenic a nine erstwhile it comes to combating hatred and hatred speech. We are acceptable to instrumentality connected this situation and we admit that this is simply a unsocial infinitesimal to marque a lasting impact. ...

"Additionally, to guarantee a sustainable and meaningful interaction successful driving consciousness and acquisition connected the important topics of hatred based connected race, ethnicity, and religion, the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty and the teams' affiliated organizations volition big a bid of assemblage conversations astatine Barclays Center successful Brooklyn, successful concern with ADL and different nationalist civilian rights organizations arsenic good arsenic section assemblage associations."

The Nets are scheduled to signifier Thursday successful beforehand of Friday night's crippled against the Washington Wizards successful Washington, D.C.