Kyrie Irving isn’t as smart as he thinks
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By DERON SNYDER (as published by theGrio)
When Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving sat down for a media session Saturday night, days after posting a link to an antisemitic film, he knew the questions were coming because he’s smart.
He knows antisemitism is a hot topic that recently clipped Kanye West’s net worth from 10 figures to nine figures. He knows crazy talk about our Jewish cousins have fueled violence and vandalism at historically high levels, fanned by public figures like the former president and Twitter’s new owner. Irving also should know that antisemitism is mainstream media’s top-ranked racial offense, ahead of any anti-behavior toward people of color.
Team owner Joe Tsai, the Nets, and the NBA issued separate statements condemning Irving’s post, but the baller doubled down from the podium. He said he’s trying to educate people with his social media posts, not be divisive: “I’m in a unique position to have a level of influence on my community.” Considering he has 4.6 million followers on Twitter, we can’t disagree there.
But the self-proclaimed deep thinker displayed his pretzel logic (it’s twisted) 90 seconds later, contradicting his own valid assessment. “I’m no different than the next human being,” he said, adding that “you guys come in here and make up this powerful influence I have.”
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