Nets Fans Describe Kyrie Irving Interaction While Wearing 'Fight Antisemitism' Shirts

The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Indiana Pacers 116-109 in Monday's game, but basketball was far from the only thing to make headlines.

A handful of people who were sitting courtside wore shirts that said "Fight Antisemitism" in response to Nets point guard Kyrie Irving promoting an antisemitic film on his Twitter account.

"They should not keep a guy like that around," Aaron Jungreis, a season ticket holder who was one of the fans wearing the shirts, said, per Ian O'Connor of the New York Post. "A lot of people are going to cancel [their tickets]. They have to discipline him some way."

Jungreis described his view of the interaction to O'Connor: "We told him we love him anyway, even though we know he hates us." Jungreis then said Kyrie told the fans he appreciates them, but Jungreis felt he said it sarcastically.

Ian Begley of SNY shared comments from Mike Dube, who felt Irving was sincere when he said he appreciated the fans:

On Thursday Irving tweeted a link to the movie Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, which is based on a book with the same title and has been criticized as containing antisemitic tropes and misinformation.

On Saturday, Irving told reporters he felt he hadn't done anything wrong in posting the tweet.

In the same press conference, he also addressed previously sharing a video from far-right talk show host Alex Jones. Irving said he disagrees with Jones' lies about the Sandy Hook school shooting being staged but thinks Jones' video "about secret societies in America of occults" is "true."

The NBA did not mention Irving by name but did release a statement saying it denounced "hate speech of any kind."

Nets governor Joe Tsai also tweeted the following: "I'm disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of antisemitic disinformation. I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion."

Irving later denied that he is antisemitic:

On the court, the Nets improved to 2-5 on the season with Monday's win.

They did not make Irving available to media after the game.