Kyrie Irving denies complaining about rabbis' “I am a Jew and PROUD” sign at the Mavs game in Salt Lake City after a trio of Jazz fans claim they were asked to remove the signs at his request

NBA star Kyrie Irving insists he hasn't complained about reading “I'm a Jew and PROUD” courtside during a recent game in Salt Lake City.

The Dallas Mavericks guard, who previously faced accusations of anti-Semitism, is denying a Utah rabbi's claim that Irving pressured Jazz security to demand the sign be put away.

“I wish him and his family the best,” Irving told reporters after Wednesday's win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Dallas. “There's no disrespect going their way. That's not my way of working.'

A group of rabbis recently claimed they were forced by the Utah Jazz to remove pro-Jewish signs after Irving complained to security.

Rabbi and Jazz fan Avremi Zippel said he and three of his colleagues attended Utah's game against the Mavericks on New Year's Day with the intention of sitting courtside with the signs to send a message to the controversial All-Star.

They attended the game with the signs to send a message to Mavericks star Kyrie Irving

Previously, in November 2022, Irving was suspended by his former team, the Brooklyn Nets, for sharing a link to a film with “anti-Semitic” messages and later refusing to apologize.

Zippel, his brother Rabbi Chaim Zippel, their father Rabbi Benny Zippel and friend Rabbi Moshe Nigri secured front row seats for Monday's game by holding up signs that read: “I am a Jew and I am to be proud of.'

“Some of the things Kyrie said about the Jewish community and Holocaust denial were vile and disgusting,” Zippel said. The Salt Lake Tribune.

The boards prompted a reaction from Irving during the first quarter after the guard spotted them as he inbounded the ball.

“I'm Jewish too,” Irving reportedly told Zippel, gesturing to a Star of David tattoo on his hand, before shouting, “You shouldn't bring that to a game,” as he dribbled away.

At the next timeout, Irving came out of the game and Zippel claims that minutes later security approached them and asked to check their tickets.

Another member of security staff reportedly came by a minute later and told them to put the signs away, explaining that no signs are allowed along the court.

A Jazz manager then apologetically told Zippel that arena policy prohibited front-row signs, before another reportedly told them at halftime that the problem arose after Irving complained.

After the guard came out of the game, security reportedly approached the group of rabbis

The Utah Jazz said in a statement, via The Salt Lake Tribune, that the signs violated arena rules that were designed “so that games can be played without distraction and disruption.” No matter where someone is in the arena, if a sign is distracting or leads to interaction with a player, we will ask them to remove it.”

'During an out-of-bounds play in the first quarter of yesterday's Jazz game against the Dallas Mavericks, there was a group on the right sideline whose signals led to an interaction with a player that caused a distraction and disrupted the game upset,” the Jazz players said. statement added.

“As the next step in standard security protocol, fans were asked to remove their signs. … It was about the disruptive interaction caused by the use of the signs, not the content of the signs.”

However, at one post on InstagramZippel said, “Kyrie Irving being a coward with the backbone of a goldfish is not news to me.

'Unfortunately, it is not news to me that the Mavericks organization is taking care of him.

'I am a lifelong Jazz fan and have been a proud season ticket member for years. I don't plan to change that in the short term.

“I've had a few years where the basketball the Jazz played on the court was kind of embarrassing.

'And yet. Last night, for the first time in my life, I was really disappointed in the Utah Jazz.”

Monday wasn't the first time Irving was criticized by fans on the court during a game.

In November 2022, a group of fans were spotted in the front row wearing “Fight Antisemitism” T-shirts during the Nets' game against the Indiana Pacers.

Irving first faced criticism and backlash after sharing a link to the Amazon page for the 2018 film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which contained anti-Semitic tropes.

Fans sat courtside at a Nets game in 2022 wearing T-shirts that read “Fight anti-Semitism”

The group was reportedly insulting the guard and he told them he was 'grateful' to them

The former Brooklyn Nets star faced backlash in 2022 for publishing the 2018 film, which is based on a book of the same name that has been described as 'toxically anti-Semitic'

He was suspended by the Nets for a minimum of five games on Nov. 3, 2022, hours after he refused to say he did not have anti-Semitic beliefs during a meeting with reporters at the Brooklyn practice facility.

Irving issued a belated apology following his suspension, but only after several controversial conversations with the media. In one instance, he told reporters, “I'm not going to renounce anything I believe in.”

He missed eight games due to suspension before apologizing again on November 20, 2022 to anyone who felt threatened or hurt when he posted the link to the documentary containing anti-Semitic material, paving the way for him to finally play for the Nets again.

Irving forced a trade to the Mavericks three months later in February 2023 in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and multiple second-round picks.