Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving has apologised for promoting a film he said contained “false anti-Semitic statements”, just hours after his team suspended him.
Irving has faced heavy criticism since posting a link on Twitter last week to a 2018 documentary and defending the post over the weekend.
The seven-time All Star has since deleted the Twitter post.
Posting on Instagram, Irving apologised to those “hurt from the hateful remarks made in the documentary”, and said he took full responsibility for his decision to share the content with his followers.
Irving said the film “contained some false anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion”.
“I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against anti-Semitism by apologising for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the documentary I agreed with and disagreed with,” Irving wrote.
Before he posted his apology, the Nets had suspended Irving for at least five games, saying that despite holding two news conferences, he had refused to disavow anti-Semitism.
“We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no anti-Semitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film,” the Nets said in a statement announcing the suspension.
Read the article in The New Daily.