NBA: Kyrie Irving suspended by Brooklyn Nets for antisemitic scandal

While the NBA has not yet taken decisive action over the Kyrie Irving scandal, his team, the Brooklyn Nets, have decided to suspend the player days after he shared a tweet promoting a film that promotes antisemitic propaganda.

The Nets had initially issued a joint statement with the player, where Irving was quoted as saying: "I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day." He took responsibility for his actions and said that he was aware of the "negative impact" of his post towards the Jewish community.

The Nets also spoke about a joint donation to promote education and "eradicate hate and intolerance." However, just a day later, things took a turn for the worse after Irving was given the opportunity to speak about the issue in public. He gave a lengthy answer when asked if he was surprised that what he did hurt people, but refused to say that he has no antisemitic beliefs.

The Nets immediately took action and released a statement saying: "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."

The Nets then stated that Irving is unfit to be associated with the organization before announcing that the player "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 is no less than five games."

Rapper Kanye West landed in the same controversy last month after sharing antisemitic views in public. He has since been dropped by numerous business partners, including sporting goods giant Adidas.