For Real BLOG

November 11, 2022 

U-ICON Editorial 

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Kyrie Irving

 

What controversy is happening in America? 

Why is there still a fuss going on around Kyrie Irving? Why can’t he be who he is and do what he wants? 

Kyrie Irving is a 30-year-old American professional basketball, he is born on March 23, 1992. He plays for the Brooklyn Nets they are a part of the National Basketball Association, NBA.

On October 30, 2022, Kyrie Irving shared information with his followers on Twitter. He posted a link to a documentary on Amazon. This documentary was immediately labeled anti-semitic and hostile to the Jewish people. 

Kyrie has 4.5 million followers on Twitter and 17 million on Instagram. 

Apologies

Brooklyn Nets boss Joe Tsai tweeted that he was disappointed in Kyrie and that his tweet is hurtful and promotes hate. The NBA and many others also criticized Kyrie for sharing that documentary. 

He deleted his tweet and apologized. In addition, he and his team pledged a joint donation of $1 million to the Anti-Defamation League. ADL is an American charity founded to combat hate speech. 

That wasn’t enough. Because they felt that he failed to properly apologize for his actions during a press conference and that he did not deny strongly enough that he had anti-Semitic beliefs. 

Extensive apology

Kyrie issued an even longer apology via Twitter on November 4, saying:

To all the Jewish families and communities who were hurt and affected by my post, I am deeply sorry for causing you any pain and I apologize. I initially reacted out of emotion to being unfairly labeled anti-Semitic, rather than focusing on the healing process of my Jewish brothers and sisters who were hurt by the hateful comments in the documentary.

I want to clarify any confusion about where I stand in the fight against anti-Semitism by apologizing for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the documentary that I agree and disagree with.

I had no intention of disrespecting any Jewish cultural history related to the Holocaust or perpetuating any hatred.

I learn from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between all of us. I am no different than any other human being. I am a seeker of truth and knowledge, and I know who I am.” 

Hebrews to negroes

“Where is that same attention and energy for the platform that is promoting and profiting from it,” Jay Williams, an NBA analyst for ESPN, said on November 2. “I don’t hear any of that around Jeff Bezos and Amazon.”

The American Jewish Committee, one of America’s largest Jewish organizations, has launched a petition calling on Amazon to remove the book and film from the Amazon platform.

Ronald Dalton’s Amazon documentary Hebrews To Negroes that Kyrie linked to has soared to the top of Amazon’s charts following his post. Logically, everything you give attention grows. 

The book is still for purchase. And the documentary is still available for purchase and rental on Amazon and online.

‘We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.’

Martin Luther King 

Punishment

The Brooklyn Nets handed him a five-game suspension, saying he was currently unfit to be associated with the team. 

The ADL rejected his donation because they felt he did not feel responsible enough for his actions.

Nike had suspended its sponsorship deal with the Kyrie and put the release of its Kyrie 8-sneaker on hold. Now Nike has completely stopped its collaboration with Kyrie.

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is tough on Nike after firing Kyrie Irving. He says, “Since when does Nike care about ethics?”

Basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom told the Brooklyn Nets boss on October 30, also about his partnership with Nike, “I applaud you for condemning Kyrie Irving after multiple anti-Semitic incidents. It’s time to condemn yourself for supporting the millions of Muslims being slaughtered in China. You are literally contributing to genocide, you fucking hypocrite Joe Tsai. You are way worse than Kyrie.”

Enes Kanter also implored Freedom in May to take a stand against the NBA’s connections to communist China. Enes Kanter said : “Human rights violations are happening all over the world. We have to address them as it is. And… for the NBA, morality matters until there is money or business involved. And all these owners, there are 50 NBA owners, make a profit from slave labor.” 

Report

Anti-Semitism is on the rise, according to a report from Israel’s Tel Aviv University published in April. The number of recorded incidents in the US had doubled compared to the previous year, they say.

The report indicates that social media is partly responsible for spreading lies and inspiring people to attack Jews. 

Covid

Kyrie was one of the most high-profile people during the Covid 19 pandemic who refused to be vaccinated. He explained that he was not in favor of “both sides” and was simply doing what he thought was best for his health.

Some said he had become a major conspiracy theorist, claiming he had shared misinformation about coronavirus vaccines.

In an Instagram Live video, he said he knew the consequences of his decision and later said it ultimately cost him $100 million. He missed the first half of the 2021-2022 season and returned to the Brooklyn Nets in January.

Kyrie was unable to play home games until March due to New York’s ban on unvaccinated people. It is said that the Brooklyn Nets are now also being extra tough on Kyrie by refusing to vaccinate. Which is his choice and right. It is his body.

‘Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.’

Martin Luther King   

Hypocritical

Kyrie had only shared the documentary link of Hebrews To Negroes which can be found on Amazon. We are all smart enough to draw our own conclusions about this documentary. A lot of people wouldn’t even look, but now of course they do.

Former basketball player Shaq owns a movie theater. He also showed the documentary in his cinema. He also condemned Kyrie. Shaq couldn’t be more sad and hypocritical.

Unfortunately, Kyrie receives little support from acquaintances. Many are afraid, don’t want to be canceled and are hypocrits. Fear rules. 

Admiration

We stand with Kyrie. We have admiration and respect for Kyrie because he shows who he is. He is not allowed to be open and honest. Who decides that? Why are people afraid of reality?

Kyrie didn’t say anything about Jewish people. He just shared information. Information that many believe is anti-Semitic because that is what they want to believe. We see it as an informative documentary.

Kyrie stays strong and stays positive. He speaks to the media and is honest and sincere in his answers. 

Influence

Why do they want us not to listen to Kyrie? What exactly is the problem? Influencing? As if he can influence the whole world. Everyone can and may form their own opinion. That’s your right.

Many want to convince people not to listen to Kyrie by calling him anti-Semitic. Isn’t that influence? Many didn’t even watch that documentary. They immediately believe the media story, without investigating themselves.

Power is used to destroy and punish Kyrie for what?. It is incomprehensible what is happening now.

The media has a negative mindset and creates drama and trauma on a daily basis regarding race, culture and class. There is a lot of misinformation, deception and distraction going on. If they can’t control you, they want to oppress you. 

Cancel culture

It’s time to cancel the cancel culture.

It cannot be the case that a person or company determines what you do and don’t share. The fact that you are no longer free to do what you want goes way too far. 

Canceling also means influencing others with force. The media is very good at that. People are destroyed and then they start talking about mental problems. While individuals, companies and the media play a large role in the cause of these mental problems.

The reason why they keep Kyrie’s name out of their mouths is because they are trying to control and constantly influence the narrative of his character.

When the media controls the information, they control the world. This means that they strongly influence the world we live in. Freedom of expression is important for democracy. You then know how someone thinks and who you are dealing with. 

Victims

We come to the conclusion that slavery is indeed not over yet. That the media, individuals and companies indeed influence and want to control others. That they are allowed to destroy others because they believe that communication should be different.

Everyone who participates in this remains in a victim role. Many feel that what Jewish people have experienced in 5 years is worse than 400 years of slavery. To be clear: both are equally bad.

Only one took much, much longer than the other. Why is one worse than the other? Is this a color or racism issue? A little more compassion and empathy for each other would be better.

Have we learned nothing from oppression from the past? Why suppress other opinions? One person’s religion, race, culture or class is not more important than another’s. We have to communicate more honestly about it.

We all need to heal from something. But that is separate from someone else’s freedom.

6 Conditions

The Brooklyn Nets have told Kyrie Irving that he must meet six conditions to return to the team.

Those required conditions are:

– Kyrie should apologize for posting a link to that documentary with anti-Semitic material. He must also condemn the movie.

– Kyrie must donate $500,000 to anti-hate causes.

– Kyrie needs to undergo sensitivity training.

– Kyrie needs to go to school to educate herself about anti-Semitism.

– Kyrie must meet with the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish leaders.

– Kyrie needs to meet with Jewish Nets owner Joseph Tsai to show he understands the issues.

The Nets suspended Kyrie for 5 games without pay.

We hope he will not comply with these conditions. These conditions have never been requested from anyone else. Why is he so condemned? Hopefully he will leave the Brooklyn Nets. 

No Hate

Kyrie doesn’t need to be treated this way because he did nothing wrong. Still, he apologized. But they didn’t think that was good enough. Because he must pay, suffer and obey. They want to humiliate him.

He is not the creator of the documentary. The book was released in 2016 and the film in 2018 and are available through Amazon. Amazon makes money from that. This situation is being wildly exaggerated and unnecessarily escalated. Kyrie can share knowledge when he wants.

The question is: Why do Jewish people constantly feel so threatened? Why do they want to suppress Kyrie? He is not a hater, on the contrary. He has an opinion, is a free thinker. And then? those 6 conditions are unnecessary.

He is talented and makes money for and with his industry. He is not on a dog leash. Kyrie has the right to talk and share his mind with his followers. Jeff Bezos is not convicted because the documentery is on his platform. Why not?

Sharing the documentary was not hatred and not anti-Semitism. You watch that documentary if you want and you don’t have an opinion anymore.

Everyone is free to think for themselves. Now they have promoted that documentary themselves much more and it has become a bestseller. 

Under pressure

We cannot understand this oppression.

Why silence people, put pressure on them and control the narrative with power and the media? The media is deliberately misleading.

They want to pressure Kyrie to deny himself so he does what they want. At least Kyrie now knows who can and cannot be trusted.

Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Dave Chapelle and others have also experienced this oppression. So it’s nothing new. Kyrie needs to stick to his principles. His life and dignity are far greater than material possessions.

Brown and Black Americans cannot be held responsible for the terrible times Jewish people experienced during the Holocaust. It cannot be that brown and black Americans have to constantly tiptoe through the history of Jewish people. 

Own boss

Kyrie Irving is his own boss. He has enough money and much more opportunies than dealing with this bullshit.

You need to have a strong mindset these days. Because many people want to drive you crazy with hate and opinions. You have to pay attention to yourself and your family.

Kyrie is an example for the new generation. He can ‘uplift the game’ with his own vision and his own company.

It is important to have your own company in these type of situations so that you are the boss and not at the service of someone else.

You then show that you don’t need anyone for approval. You can be more successful if you are not dependent. You can share anything via your own platform without anyone’s permission.

They actually say to Kyrie; ‘Shut up and dribble.’ Wtf! Who are these people?

We hope he will play for another basketball team. And design his own shoe.

Kyrie must continue to stand for open and honest communication. He doesn’t have to answer to anyone. He is an example for a lot of people.

Young people

It is incomprehensible how we treat each other. When someone dies, we fake how sorry we are, we fake love that isn’t there. While we destroy those same great people during life.

Chasing people around every day and constantly talking and writing really nasty things about them is cruel. This certainly entails mental and physical problems and often suicide.

The world is a beautiful place, unfortunately with many terrible and cruel people.

If you look at history and read about it, nothing has changed. Apparently we learn nothing at all from history.

We lack self-reflection and self-correction. We talk and talk, but nothing changes. People are very unconscious, mindless and ice cold.

There are few good examples for young people to become the best version of themselves in this world. 

We must therefore inspire and help young people every day to develop a strong positive mindset and good skills. So that young people can help each other and survive in this cold world. 

Lies

We’re all going to die. So we better act normal and be nice until then.

Many people don’t even know who they are anymore. They have sold their souls to money, fame, likes and illusions. This is a time that many suffer from delusions.

We must respect each other. Above all, have respect for yourself when your boundaries are exceeded.

Many people say things in the media that are much worse than what Kyrie did. What is sharing a link without words? People measure with double standards. Many can say and do anything without restrictions.

The media makes money by selling a lot of lies & drama. 

Free

Kyrie Irving is free to do whatever he wants. He has the right to share a link and the right to inform. We can all think for ourselves and decide for ourselves.

Censorship is not necessary. ‘Freedom is no fear.’ 

No belief or opinion is above that of another. Whatever the history has been.

Why should you have to walk on your toes all the time? Why should you have to deal with the Holocaust every step of the way?

No one in the mainstream media is really concerned with the slavery past. right? Again double standards.

Peace

We all desperately need empathy, compassion and tolerance.

Do you remember who you are? Or are you afraid to be who you really are? We all want peace.

Don’t talk, just do it. Be real to yourself. Don’t be a follower.