Kyrie Irving Deleted His Apology For Sharing Antisemitic Movie [Update]

As of Sunday, Kyrie Irving is the Dallas Mavericks' problem. He's reportedly "ecstatic" to land on a new team, as always. Surely Irving is ready to co-star with Luka Doncic and get to work on revising the history of his time in Brooklyn. He might've been ready to get out of there weeks ago: An apology that Irving posted to mollify his old employer has been deleted from Instagram, possibly before his trade to Dallas.

In early November, the Nets suspended Irving for at least five games after he shared a link to the film Hebrews to Negroes and failed to disavow its antisemitic content to the team's liking. "Over the last several days, we have made repeated attempts to work with Kyrie Irving to help him understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate," the team said in a statement at the time. "We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film."

Irving, who lost at least $1.3 million of salary with what turned out to be an eight-game suspension, then posted an apology to Instagram on Nov. 4:

"While doing research on YHWH, I posted a Documentary that contained some false anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion, and I take full accountability and responsibility for my actions. I am grateful to have a big platform to share knowledge and I want to move forward by having an open dialogue to learn more and grow from this.

To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize. I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary. I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against Anti-Semitism by apologizing for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the Documentary I agreed with and disagreed with. I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate. I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all. I am no different than any other human being. I am a seeker of truth and knowledge, and I know who I Am."

As pointed out by The Athletic's Sam Amick this week, this Instagram post has since been deleted. It's hard to tell exactly when Irving removed his apology; Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports noticed it in his Jan. 20 article, and the Wayback Machine doesn't offer a great deal of clarity when it comes to Instagram. But it's something to chew on for Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who will be considering a massive extension for his new point guard this summer.

Cuban, who likes gaming, might prefer the pinned post on Irving's Instagram page. It pairs the exhortation "Warriors Of GOD I call on YOU" with an image of a character from Diablo 3. Profound stuff.

Update (5:00 p.m. ET): Irving was asked about the apology at his first Mavericks press conference, and served a warmed-over plate of the usual gibberish.

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