Following Duke’s exhibition win Wednesday against Fayetteville State, head coach Jon Scheyer responded to a question regarding former Blue Devil Kyrie Irving’s recent social media post of an Amazon listing for an antisemitic documentary.
“I've known Kyrie for a long time and I've had nothing but incredible interactions with him,” Scheyer said. “For me, it's less about Kyrie. It's more just about what's happening all across our country, right? I mean, you see things in the news and it's concerning, like antisemitism of any kind is horrible and wrong and unacceptable.
“I think it's important for all of us—for myself being the coach here, for whoever—[to] use our platform the right way.”
The documentary Irving posted, titled “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” has been criticized by civil rights groups for its antisemitic tropes.
“The book and film he promotes trade in deeply #antisemitic themes including those promoted by dangerous sects of the Black Hebrew Israelites movement,” tweeted Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League.
Irving, who played one season at Duke in 2010-11 and now plays for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, released a joint statement Wednesday, acknowledging his impact on the Jewish community and taking responsibility for his actions.
“I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles,” Irving said. “I am a human being learning from all walks of life and I intend to do so with an open mind and a willingness to listen.”
In Wednesday's statement, Irving and the Brooklyn Nets each announced they would pledge $500,000 to the Anti-Defamation League.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement Thursday morning, indicating that he would be meeting with Irving to discuss the situation.
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Micah Hurewitz is a Trinity senior and was previously a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.