Stoudemire Latest To Call Out Nets Star

Topline

Amar’e Stoudemire, a Jewish former Brooklyn Nets assistant coach and NBA All-Star, called on Nets star Kyrie Irving to either apologize for promoting an explosive antisemitic film or face possible discipline Wednesday, becoming the latest former player to speak out against the controversy-prone Irving even as most current players and the league stay quiet.

Jewish world domination is the latest conspiracy touted by Kyrie Irving.

Getty Images

Key Facts

Irving tweeted a link Thursday to the film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which perpetuates harmful tropes about Jews including Satan worship and plots for world domination, and refused to apologize at an explosive Saturday press conference (Irving deleted the offending tweet Sunday and claimed as an “OMNIST”—or a person who believes in all religions—he can’t be an antisemite).

Irving’s actions picked up a notable backer in antisemitic rapper Kanye West, who called Irving one of the “real ones” in an Instagram post Sunday, less than a week after West was dropped by corporate America last month for threatening violence against Jews.

Brooklyn’s billionaire owner Joe Tsai condemned Irving in a Friday evening tweet, but Irving has not faced any discipline from his team, the league or the players’ union, with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver not speaking on the matter and the players’ association releasing a statement denouncing antisemitism without mentioning Irving, a vice president of the organization, by name.

A rash of notable media figures and former NBA stars have lambasted Irving and the league’s handling of the situation, including Irving’s former coach Stoudemire, who said in a Wednesday appearance on ESPN’s Get Up Irving “made a mistake” by promoting a documentary containing “false allegations” about Jews and needs to back down, or else the NBA will “probably take a look” at punishing him.

On Tuesday, broadcasters and former players Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal each called Irving an “idiot” and urged Silver to suspend him during TNT’s broadcast of Brooklyn’s loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Irving has yet to face any corporate pushback despite the public backlash, though his shoe sponsor Nike released a statement Monday condemning hate speech and antisemitism.

Key Background

A former NBA player, Stoudemire coached Irving for three years before leaving the Nets this summer, citing the difficulty of performing his role given his observance of Shabbat. Stoudemire has witnessed Irving’s caustic and often-controversial behavior in the past: He partially attributed the Nets’ lack of chemistry during the 2021-22 season to Irving missing more than half of the games over his refusal to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. A self-proclaimed “free thinker,” Irving has touted several dubious or downright false conspiracy theories over the years, famously claiming the earth is flat and that the federal government played a role in the murders of John F. Kennedy and Bob Marley (Irving later apologized in 2018 for his flat-earth beliefs, which he made as a Boston Celtics player). Irving came under fire in September for sharing a clip from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who is on the hook for $965 billion for claiming the Sandy Hook massacre that claimed the lives of 20 elementary school children was a hoax.

Surprising Fact

The firestorm surrounding the Nets, inspired by poor on-court performance and Irving’s off-court antics, claimed its first victim Tuesday when the team fired its head coach Steve Nash. The Nets did not give a specific reason for the ouster of Nash, who played with Stoudemire on the Phoenix Suns in the 2000s, outside of it being an “evaluation of how the season has begun.”

Tangent

There is precedent for the NBA taking action against players spewing antisemitic rhetoric, as it fined Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard $50,000 and suspended him for a week after he said an antisemitic slur online last March. The league fined Kobe Bryant $100,000 in 2011 and Anthony Edwards $40,000 this year for using anti-gay slurs. The league has forcefully punished owners found to use racist language, forcing Donald Sterling to sell the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014 and suspending Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver for a year in September after the two owners used the N-word on several occasions.

Chief Critic

The controversy over Irving’s antisemitic posts has “absolutely not’ affected the team, fellow Nets star Kevin Durant said Saturday. “The only impact is [on] you guys and everybody outside the locker room.”