Kyrie Irving: Why his tweets have got him in trouble

Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving is a talented but outspoken basketball star

NBA all-star Kyrie Irving is regarded as one of basketball's most talented stars.

But the Brooklyn Nets player has a habit of getting as much attention for his off-court comments as for his displays of skill.

The 30-year-old previously attracted criticism - and missed six months of games - when he chose not to get a Covid-19 vaccination.

And Kyrie's been back in the headlines again in a row over anti-Semitism.

What did Kyrie say?

Like many celebrities and sports stars, Kyrie Irving has a huge social media following - more than 17 million on Instagram and about 4.5 million on Twitter.

It was a tweet that got him into trouble.

He shared a link to a documentary containing material described as anti-Semitic, meaning that it was hostile to Jewish people.

The NBA and Brooklyn Nets boss Joe Tsai were among many who criticised Kyrie.

He eventually deleted the tweet, and promised with his team to make a joint $1m donation to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) - a US charity set up to combat hate speech.

But that wasn't the end of it.

'Unfit to be associated'

At a news conference after the tweet was posted, Kyrie failed to apologise for his actions and to strongly deny holding anti-Semitic beliefs.

After this, the Nets slapped him with a five-game ban, and said he was "currently unfit to be associated" with the team.

In response, the ADL said it was rejecting his donation because it believed he "feels no accountability for his actions".

Kyrie then put out a longer apology, appearing to backtrack on his previous remarks.

Nike also suspended its sponsorship deal with the star, and put the release of its Kyrie 8 sneaker on hold.

He's since had a meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver over the issue.

According to the New York Times Mr Silver, who is Jewish, said he did not believe Kyrie was anti-Semitic following a long conversation.

But he agreed his posts had been damaging, the paper said.

Mr Silver also said the NBA and the Nets were in talks over when Kyrie would be able to return to the court.

Why are people so upset?

There have been rising reports of attacks against Jewish people in America, according to some organisations

According to some sources, anti-Semitism is on the rise.

One report from Israel's Tel Aviv University, published this April, suggested recorded incidents in the US had doubled on the previous year.

It said social media was partly to blame for "spreading lies" and inspiring people to attack Jews.

There are concerns from groups like the ADL that high-profile people sharing information containing "fringe beliefs" can cause it to spread more widely

A Guardian report said the documentary Kyrie linked to had shot to the top of Amazon's charts after he posted.

'I will play in the NBA'

Kyrie Irving caught the eye of talent scouts as a Duke University college basketball player

Australian-born Kyrie has told interviewers his dream of going pro came alive on a school field trip to the New Jersey Nets' stadium.

After the trip, when he was about nine years old, he says he took a piece of paper and wrote: "I will play in the NBA, I promise".

Kyrie played college basketball for Duke University and was then snapped up by NBA team Cleveland Cavaliers, being named Rookie of the Year in his first season.

He teamed up with basketball legend LeBron James to win an NBA Championship title in 2016 - giving Cleveland its first sports trophy in more than 50 years.

During his career, Kyrie has been an activist, donated to various organisations and been a vice-president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).

Kyrie Irving career highlights

• Seven-time NBA All-Star

• Snatched victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals with a last-minute three-point shot

• NBA Three-Point Contest champion 2013

• Olympic gold medal winner, Team USA, 2016

Vaccine row

Kyrie Irving and Lebron James led the Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA Championship

Kyrie was one of the most high-profile "vaccine holdouts" - players who refused to get jabbed - at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said he was "not an advocate for either side" and was just doing what he thought was best for his health.

But he admitted to becoming a "big conspiracy theorist" and some reports claimed he had shared misinformation about coronavirus vaccines.

In an Instagram Live video, he said he "knew the consequences" of his decision - and later said it ended up costing him $100m.

He missed the first half of the 2021-22 season, returning to the Brooklyn Nets in January.

But he was unable to play home games until March due to New York's ban on unvaccinated people at indoor venues.

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