Buckle Up, Dallas: Conspiracy-Prone Kyrie Irving Has Joined the Mavericks

The word “mercurial” comes up a lot when the subject is Kyrie Irving, the former Brooklyn Nets point guard who was just acquired by the Dallas Mavericks. Optimists herald the 30-year-old basketball star as the team’s savior, but cynics say that he’s more like a harbinger of doom.

Even if you’re not a big sports buff, you’ve likely heard of Irving before. His reputation off the court is controversial, to say the least.

Irving came under fire late last year, around the time of the months-long self-immolation of hip-hop icon Kanye West, who plummeted from grace after issuing a series of virulently antisemitic statements.

In October, Irving shared a tweet promoting a 2018 movie that features antisemitic themes, Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, which was based on a book of the same name. He eventually apologized on social media — after getting slapped with a suspension by the Nets — but Sports Illustrated notes that he didn’t exactly extend that contrition in person.

This week added yet another twist to the ordeal: Irving has apparently since deleted the social media post in which he said he was “deeply sorry” to Jewish people. Asked why on Tuesday, he replied: “I delete things all the time, and it’s no disrespect to anyone within the community. Just living my life.”

Before that development had even come to light, at least one Jewish advocacy organization decried Irving’s acquisition.

A group called StopAntisemitism told the Observer via email earlier this week that they were “disappointed” the NBA didn’t do more to make things right after Irving promoted antisemitic misinformation. Executive Director Liora Rez said that pro athletes enjoy enormous influence and should take such sway seriously.

The resulting damage to the Jewish community “cannot be undone,” she said.

“With this trade to the Dallas Mavericks, Irving is now playing for a team which is owned by Mark Cuban, a proud Jew,” Rez continued. “We hope that Cuban takes this opportunity to educate not just Irving but the entire franchise about the many forms that Jew-hatred takes, including Holocaust denial. Together, Cuban and Irving could truly have a positive impact in the fight against antisemitism.”

Some Dallasites, incidentally, have noted the close proximity of the Mavs’ home arena to the Dallas Holocaust Museum.

In the past, Irving has sparked outrage for his stance on vaccine mandates amid the pandemic (anti-) and for his thoughts on the shape of the earth (flat). He also once appeared to cast doubt on what he believes are inaccurate renderings of dinosaurs.

Jake Kemp, the co-host of The Hang Zone on 1310 The Ticket, who also writes about the Mavs for D Magazine, made it clear that he doesn’t want to “alibi for a guy who has said many, many dumb things.” The former Net is a wickedly talented player — when he’s actually on the court. This issue is that the star has missed a ton of playing time due to injury and his refusal to get the COVID jab, the latter of which led him to missing out on home games because of New York City’s then-mandate.

Kemp explained that the Mavericks previously made a trade for another player, Kristaps Porziņģis, which didn’t exactly work out. That contributed to the team having limited avenues to improve its roster, so when this path presented itself, he said, “it was kind of the best bad option.”

“It’s just that all of his nonsense aside, Kyrie Irving is an awesome basketball player.” – Jake Kemp, sports writer and radio host

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Irving’s reputation is likely far more negative among media members than the players themselves, Kemp said. The acquisition is sure to make at least some of his team happy, namely Luka Dončić, who has had to shoulder the team’s scoring burden virtually all season long.

“It’s just that all of his nonsense aside, Kyrie Irving is an awesome basketball player,” Kemp said.

Some NBA titans have called out Irving before, though.

Points-GOAT LeBron James, for instance, put him on blast following the aforementioned antisemitic-film-tweet, Kemp said. But that heat gradually cooled, with James later criticizing the press for asking him questions about Irving instead of a different scandal involving Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The bottom line is that sports fans just want their team to win games, Kemp continued. That said, Irving’s standing among Nets fans likely suffered because of his sideline stints, and he “also basically got two coaches fired” with the team, including former Mav Steve Nash.

“My guess is that Nets fans are just tired of him,” Kemp added, “and my guess is that Mavericks fans will be in time.”