Suspended Nets star Kyrie Irving has ‘productive’ meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver

Controversial Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving had a “productive” meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver as he tries to work his way back from an indefinite suspension over his alleged support for an anti-Semitic film.

Shams Charania of the Athletic reported Tuesday, after the scheduled meeting, that the “productive and understanding visit” “paves the way for the Nets and their suspended star to work through his steps on a potential path forward.”

A league spokesperson did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.

The Brooklyn Nets last week suspended the star point guard after he tweeted a link to a movie featuring anti-Semitic tropes and even quoted Adolf Hitler discussing the existence of an alleged Jewish conspiracy for world domination. Irving issued a belated apology after his suspension, but only after several controversial exchanges with the media. In one instance, he told reporters, “I’m not going to back down from anything I believe in.”

Unhappy with Irving’s response, Nets owner Joe Tsai and CEO Sean Marks issued a minimum five-game suspension for Irving, stipulating that he must comply with “a set of objective remedial actions that address the harmful effects of his behavior.” ‘ before he can return to the team.

The ban came just hours after Silver said Irving’s decision to post the link on Twitter was “reckless.”

“While we appreciate his agreement to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to fight anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that he has not offered an unreserved apology and more specifically the despicable and harmful exposed content. in the film he chose to publish,” Silver said in a statement. “I will meet Kyrie in person next week to discuss this situation.”

Irving has since apologized on Instagram.

‘While you are searching for YHWH [Yahweh], I posted a documentary that contained some false anti-Semitic statements, stories and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish race/religion, and I take full responsibility and responsibility for my actions,” Irving wrote. ‘I am grateful to have a great platform to share knowledge and I want to continue by having an open dialogue to learn more and grow from this.’

Irving is already three games into his suspension of at least five games, but the players’ union is considering an appeal because the ban is too strict.

In question, Brown told the Boston Globeis that the NBA collective bargaining agreement does not provide guidelines for player penalties for posting to social media.

“There’s an interesting distinction between what someone says verbally and what someone posts as a link on a platform without a description behind it,” Brown said. “Some people will argue that there is no difference and some people will argue that there is a difference. There is no language in our SCBA. There are no rules against it. This is unexplored territory for everyone and everyone is trying to discover the difference between the two.’

Brown also defended Irving, his former teammate, against charges of anti-Semitism.

“I don’t believe Kyrie Irving is anti-Semitic,” Brown said. “I don’t think people in our governing bodies think he’s anti-Semitic. He made a mistake. We understand from an external perspective how important sensitivity is not to condone hate speech and to condone anything of that nature.

‘It is the sensitivity to the surrounding dialect. We don’t want to stand up for anyone not to condemn hate speech, but I don’t believe Kyrie Irving is anti-Semitic. And hopefully the NBA feels the same.”