Hebrews to Negroes is a movie that was free on streaming earlier this year, but now Amazon Prime allows rentals for $11.99. An uptick in publicity probably started when former NBA champion and Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving posted about it on Twitter. It’s a three and half hour long movie, so someone curious about the uproar it caused will need to set aside some time and money to watch it. I’m sure you can find a Cliff Notes version of it online, but the most fascinating thing is what the whole situation taught us. I’ll sum it all up for people only tangentially following the news.
Who is Kyrie Irving?
With only 11 games played at Duke University (injury), Kyrie Irving was the number one overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. The year after future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James bolted for the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers had the worst record in the Eastern Conference. After selecting Irving, the Cavs were middling for a few seasons until LeBron came back, and they strung together 4 straight seasons of reaching the NBA Finals. Kyrie Irving hit the game-winning shot for Cleveland’s only title in 2016. Irving demanded a trade in 2017 and was shipped to the Boston Celtics. There he missed a ton of games (injury) for two seasons and subsequently signed as a free agent with the Brooklyn Nets. The hope being a tandem between himself and future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant would result in a championship. He has missed quite a few games with the Nets due to injury too.
There are other details in the saga of Kyrie Irving. Stories surrounding his involvement with R&B superstar artist, Kehlani nearly led to her death by suicide. Flat earth theory. Sage-burning along the NBA court before games. Game absences due to events of the latest news cycle. Refusing the COVID vaccine even though it was a prerequisite to work in his town. I dropped links for you, so I won’t bore you with all of that. Let’s get to the current controversy.
Anti-Semitic
As busy as NBA players are during the season, Kyrie Irving found the time to watch a 3.5-hour movie and retweet or repost it online without any context. He followed that up by being defensive when the media asked him about specific things in the film. Irving was grilled about hurtful Jewish tropes and whether he stood by those things.
What Kyrie Irving Taught Us
Kyrie Irving is a superbly gifted talent, but he is oft-injured and has not shown the ability to win without LeBron James. Irving has had All-Star talents at his side, so it is not a team-building issue. His former teammates, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, both made the NBA Finals last year, with Marcus Smart winning Defensive Player of the Year. Superstar James Harden was a teammate with him in Brooklyn but had one of the more disappointing seasons in his career before demanding a trade. It was a trade for former number-one pick Ben Simmons which is an interesting experiment that has not worked out yet.
NBA players (and most high-level personnel) should refrain from social media during the season. If it is not basketball or endorsement related, save it for the offseason. The NBA should have mandatory quarterly training regarding social media in all personnel contracts.
Retweeting movies, news, books, or shoes could be a tacit endorsement of the product by the player, team, and in some cases, the whole league. You have to own what you post. This is how a Daryl Morey tweet can cost the NBA billions. It is how laymen like you and me can lose their jobs. This is how you end up having non-basketball-related interviews like this.
Kyrie also taught us that depending on who you offend, there may be no end to the ramifications. Irving is currently serving a minimum five-game suspension without pay. This, along with the joys of a required public apology, social media apology, remedial training, half-million-dollar donation to anti-hate causes, and meetings with Jewish leaders, the NBA commissioner, and the team owner. If they don’t like what they hear and the way they want to hear it, five games become ten. Or twenty. Or more. That is shaky ground for someone in the last year of his contract. But that is not all. Nike has severed ties with him. An NBA All-Star may have to retire in his prime, and everyone is choosing to be a bystander. Few NBA players have even offered an opinion on the matter one way or the other.
No boycott of Amazon is on the horizon for distributing the film. Amazon says they’ll consider adding a disclaimer while you continue shopping with them for Christmas deals. NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal was allegedly showing the film in a theatre chain that he owns, but we are supposed to listen to him shovel more dirt on Irving’s character.
Final Verdict
Kyrie Irving has a track record for saying and believing in things most people disagree with.
I will not vilify him for his social media actions. I am not an advocate of cancel culture based on retweets or lack of understanding. But, sir, you did not watch that entire hot-button movie for context and prepare to defend your views with what you agreed and disagreed with. So do that. Or apologize with sincerity and stay off social media.
The NBA has had a bad run of news lately. The Ime Udoka scandal could result in him being the next Brooklyn Nets head coach. Draymond Green and his knockout punch. Miles Bridges pleading no contest to domestic violence. This sport is not about the myriad fallacies of men. It is about competition. I would like to get back to the games again.
This season is supposed to be about LeBron’s year 20 chasing Kareem for the most points ever. It is about the Boston Celtics’ redemption from last year’s Finals loss. Former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo directing Milwaukee’s undefeated streak. International superstars taking over as the best players in the league. MVP Nikola Jokic and All-Star Luka Doncic immediately come to mind. This season is supposed to be in memory of the legendary Bill Russell. Let’s get back to basketball.
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