A group of Black Hebrew Israelites protests Kyrie Irving’s suspension outside of Barclays Center

A small group of Black Hebrew Israelites were seen protesting the suspension of Kyrie Irving’s outside of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Wednesday night, just hours after Nets general manager Sean Marks said that he has yet to speak to the star guard. 

A dozen of demonstrators, mostly men, were observed by both sets of Knicks and Nets fans in front of the Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center subway station ahead of the two NBA teams’ matchup.

One of them addressed the passing crowd with a microphone, calling for Irving to be recognized as a martyr for speaking his truth after promoting a ‘film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate,’ according to a statement issued by the NBA last week. 

‘[Kyrie] is being persecuted for that statement of truth,’ the outspoken protestor said, according to The New York Daily News. ‘He is being persecuted. He is being hazed by society today.’

‘We’re expressing our support of Kyrie Irving and his stance in terms of him knowing who he is,’ Deacon Eythan of Israel United in Christ told The New York Post. 

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving was recently suspended for a minimum of five games after doubling down on an Amazon link to a movie based on book described as ‘venomously anti-Semitic’

‘Kyrie Irving himself understands that not only are we Semitic ourselves, but it is contradictory and hypocritical to say that someone is anti-Semitic when they are Semitic.’

Irving angered many after posting a link to the Amazon page for the 2018 film ‘Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America’ last week.

The film is based on a 2015 book of the same name, which has been described as ‘venomously anti-Semitic.’ Specifically, it quotes Hitler to convince the audience about the existence of a Jewish plan for world domination. 

Black Hebrew Israelites do not associate with the Jewish people, as they believe they are the ‘Children of Israel.’ Some sub-groups believe that Hispanics are descendants of the Israelites as well.  

The 2018 movie ‘Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America’, promoted by Irving on Twitter in October, quotes Hitler on convincing an audience about the existence of a Jewish plan for world domination

Last Thursday, during a brief media appearance, the 30-year-old Irving, who is slated to earn $36million this season, was questioned if he does possess any anti-Semitic beliefs, to which he responded: ‘Again, I’m going to repeat, I don’t know how the label becomes justified because you guys ask me the same questions over and over again. 

The Nets reacted by releasing an angry and frustrated statement hours later, saying the decision to suspend the Nets star for a minimum of five games stemmed from his ongoing lack of apology, the latest of ‘repeated failures.’

‘We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct and the suspension period served is no less than five games,’ the Nets statement read in part.

‘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. This was not the first time he had the opportunity – but failed – to clarify.

‘Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.’

Irving eventually apologized on social media after his suspension was announced by his team.  

Last Thursday, during a brief media appearance, Irving, who is slated to earn $36 million this season said: ‘Again, I’m going to repeat, I don’t know how the label becomes justified because you guys ask me the same questions over and over again.

Irving’s return is also conditional, if he meets certain requisits, including ‘apologizing / condemning [the] movie, a $500k donation to anti-hate causes, sensitivity training, antisemitic training, meet with ADL, Jewish leaders and meet with [owner] Joe Tsai to demonstrate understanding,’ according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. 

‘It’s ridiculous to have him go through all these conditions just because he shared something,’ Eythan further told the Post. Instead, he points the finger at Amazon for producing the movie. ‘There’s certain content in there that may be found to be offensive, but if he found some truth in [the movie], there shouldn’t be a problem.’ 

The Irving-less Nets routed the Knicks 112-85 later in the evening, two days after Jacque Vaughn was named as Brooklyn’s head coach. He had previously been an assistant to Steve Nash until November 1st, when the Canadian was fired.