Nike Condemns Hate Speech After Kyrie Irving's Promotion of Antisemitic Movie

Nike released a statement condemning hate speech Monday in the aftermath of Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving promoting an antisemitic film on his social media accounts last week.

"At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech, and we condemn any form of antisemitism," the company, which endorses Irving, said in a statement to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

Irving posted links and screenshots of the movie Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America to his social media accounts last Thursday. The movie is rife with antisemitic tropes and includes the false assertation that many powerful Jewish people "worship Satan or Lucifer."

Irving's posting of the antisemitic film came in the immediate fallout of the controversy surrounding rapper Kanye West, who lost billion-dollar business deals with Gap and Adidas after making derogatory remarks about Jewish people.

Nike has not said whether it plans to sever its relationship with Irving, who has been with the brand since his rookie season. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in May that Nike was unlikely to extend its relationship with Irving after his contract expires with the brand next year.

In a tense back-and-forth with a reporter Saturday night, Irving defended his right to make the post and denied allegations of antisemitism.

“I’m not going to stand down on anything I believe in,” Irving said. “I’m only going to get stronger because I’m not alone. I have a whole army around me. ... Did I do anything illegal? Did I hurt anybody? Did I harm anybody? Am I going out and saying that I hate one specific group of people?”

The NBA and Nets organization, including governor Joe Tsai, released statements condemning antisemitism in wake of the controversy. (The NBA statement did not mention Irving by name.)

Irving also doubled down on his post of an Alex Jones conspiracy about secret societies in America, saying what Jones claimed was "true." Neither Jones nor Irving has offered any plausible evidence of the existence of this so-called "New World Order."

Jones, a far-right conspiracy theorist best known for being the founder of InfoWars, is one of the internet's most dangerous purveyors of misinformation. He was recently ordered to pay nearly $1 billion to the family members of the Sandy Hook school shooting after claiming the children were actors hired by the government.

While Irving said he did not stand with Jones' assertations about the Sandy Hook shootings, he did not back down in standing with the reviled radio host's other conspiracies.

Rather than understand the impact of his words, Irving has shirked responsibility and claimed he was not "promoting" anything despite exposing a little-known, antisemitic film to his more than 20 million followers on social media.

There was an increase in antisemitic violence following West's rhetoric, and Jewish people are consistently the most targeted religious group for hate crimes in the United States.

It's become clear Irving either does not recognize the power his words can have or simply does not care about the potential impact.