After several weeks of being mired in a controversy involving anti-semitic accusations, Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving has returned to the basketball court. Before taking the court, he once again apologized for previous actions that ignited the dissension.
According to The Associated Press, at Sunday’s pregame shootaround at Barclays Center, Irving spoke about how he botched things regarding the controversy that led to his eight-game suspension.
“I don’t stand for anything close to hate speech or antisemitism or anything that is going against the human race. I feel like we all should have an opportunity to speak for ourselves when things are assumed about us and I feel it was necessary for me to stand in this place and take accountability for my actions because there was a way I should have handled all this and as I look back and reflect when I had the opportunity to offer my deep regrets to anyone that felt threatened or felt hurt by what I posted, that wasn’t my intent at all.”
He also took the time to apologize to those he offended through his actions.
“I meant no harm to any person, to any group of people and yeah, this is a big moment for me because I’m able to learn throughout this process that the power of my voice is very strong, the influence that I have within my community is very strong, and I want to be responsible for that. In order to do that, you have to admit when you’re wrong and in instances where you hurt people and it impacts them.”
The Brooklyn Nets also released a statement about Irving’s return to active duty.
“Kyrie took ownership of this journey and had conversations with several members of the Jewish community,” the team said in a written statement. “We are pleased that he is going about the process in a meaningful way.”
The Brooklyn Nets suspended the mercurial New Jersey native, stating that Irving was “currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets” for his “failure to disavow antisemitism” after tweeting a link to Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!, a film widely considered anti-Semitic, prompting a barrage of media attention.