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Kyrie Irving says he has Jewish family members, stands by deleting apology post
(JTA) — NBA star Kyrie Irving’s tenure in Brooklyn has come to an end, but the drawn-out saga over his antisemitism scandal apparently has not.
NBA reporter Sam Amick pointed out in a podcast published Tuesday that Irving had deleted his November Instagram post apologizing for sharing an antisemitic film on Twitter.
Irving had been suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for at least five games after he refused to apologize for the post and instead said “I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.”
During a press conference on Tuesday, as a new member of Jewish owner Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks, he was asked about his decision to delete the post.
Kyrie on whether he deleted his apology on his IG for originally posting a link to a documentary with anti-Semitic tropes on his Twitter account and saying he does still stand by his apology. pic.twitter.com/SnAm3NpC7o
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) February 7, 2023
“I delete things all the time and it’s no disrespect to anyone within the community,” Irving said.
When asked if he stands by the apology, Irving ultimately said yes — after sharing new information about his family.
“I stand by who I am and why I apologized. I did it because I care about my family and I have Jewish members of my family that care for me deeply,” Irving said. “Did the media know that beforehand, when they called me that word — antisemitic? No. Did they know anything about my family? No. Everything was assumed.”
He continued: “I reacted instead of responding emotionally maturely. I didn’t mean to be defensive or go at anybody. I stand by my apology and I stand by my people.”
It is unclear which members of Irving’s family are Jewish, or if the assertion is an expression of the Black Hebrew Israelite ideology promoted in the film he shared, which includes the claim that African Americans are the genealogical descendants of the ancient Israelites.
Such ideology has received increased attention in recent months, as a result of Irving’s controversy and the antisemitic outbursts from Kanye West, the rapper who now goes by Ye.
“I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew,” West tweeted in October.
During Irving’s media appearance Tuesday, a reporter asked if the Jewish members of his family spoke to him about the film he shared, and whether they were hurt by his decision to promote it.
Irving demurred, and restated his oft-repeated line about knowing “where I come from.”
“I’ve had a lot of conversations about world history,” he said. “What was contained in there was contained in there. I didn’t agree with everything. I’ve been up here saying that.”
He continued by again criticizing the media, suggesting that if “specific media members actually cared to do research — instead of being the first to report things — then they would know where I come from.”
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The post Kyrie Irving says he has Jewish family members, stands by deleting apology post appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Tucker’s Ideas About Jews Come from Darkest Corners of the Internet, Says Huckabee After Combative Interview
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a combative interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, right-wing firebrand Tucker Carlson made a host of contentious and often demonstrably false claims that quickly went viral online. Huckabee, who repeatedly challenged the former Fox News star during the interview, subsequently made a long post on X, identifying a pattern of bad-faith arguments, distortions and conspiracies in Carlson’s rhetorical style.
Huckabee pointed out his words were not accorded by Carlson the same degree of attention and curiosity the anchor evinced toward such unsavory characters as “the little Nazi sympathizer Nick Fuentes or the guy who thought Hitler was the good guy and Churchill the bad guy.”
“What I wasn’t anticipating was a lengthy series of questions where he seemed to be insinuating that the Jews of today aren’t really same people as the Jews of the Bible,” Huckabee wrote, adding that Tucker’s obsession with conspiracies regarding the provenance of Ashkenazi Jews obscured the fact that most Israeli Jews were refugees from the Arab and Muslim world.
The idea that Ashkenazi Jews are an Asiatic tribe who invented a false ancestry “gained traction in the 80’s and 90’s with David Duke and other Klansmen and neo-Nazis,” Huckabee wrote. “It has really caught fire in recent years on the Internet and social media, mostly from some of the most overt antisemites and Jew haters you can find.”
Carlson branded Israel “probably the most violent country on earth” and cited the false claim that Israel President Isaac Herzog had visited the infamous island of the late, disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“The current president of Israel, whom I know you know, apparently was at ‘pedo island.’ That’s what it says,” Carlson said, citing a debunked claim made by The Times reporter Gabrielle Weiniger. “Still-living, high-level Israeli officials are directly implicated in Epstein’s life, if not his crimes, so I think you’d be following this.”
Another misleading claim made by Carlson was that there were more Christians in Qatar than in Israel.
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Pezeshkian Says Iran Will Not Bow to Pressure Amid US Nuclear Talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country would not bow its head to pressure from world powers amid nuclear talks with the United States.
“World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads… but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us,” Pezeshkian said in a speech carried live by state TV.
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Italy’s RAI Apologizes after Latest Gaffe Targets Israeli Bobsleigh Team
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Bobsleigh – 4-man Heat 1 – Cortina Sliding Centre, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – February 21, 2026. Adam Edelman of Israel, Menachem Chen of Israel, Uri Zisman of Israel, Omer Katz of Israel in action during Heat 1. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Italy’s state broadcaster RAI was forced to apologize to the Jewish community on Saturday after an off‑air remark advising its producers to “avoid” the Israeli crew was broadcast before coverage of the Four-Man bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics.
The head of RAI’s sports division had already resigned earlier in the week after his error-ridden commentary at the Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony two weeks ago triggered a revolt among its journalists.
On Saturday, viewers heard “Let’s avoid crew number 21, which is the Israeli one” and then “no, because …” before the sound was cut off.
RAI CEO Giampaolo Rossi said the incident represented a “serious” breach of the principles of impartiality, respect and inclusion that should guide the public broadcaster.
He added that RAI had opened an internal inquiry to swiftly determine any responsibility and any potential disciplinary procedures.
In a separate statement RAI’s board of directors condemned the remark as “unacceptable.”
The board apologized to the Jewish community, the athletes involved and all viewers who felt offended.
RAI is the country’s largest media organization and operates national television, radio and digital news services.
The union representing RAI journalists, Usigrai, had said Paolo Petrecca’s opening ceremony commentary had dealt “a serious blow” to the company’s credibility.
His missteps included misidentifying venues and public figures, and making comments about national teams that were widely criticized.