Nets suspend Kyrie Irving at least five games without pay

[NetsWorld]

^^^

This is definitely getting worse. And I think Tsai is making it personal and seeking revenge. But as an NBA owner, shouldn't you do what is best for your team and seek the best return on your investment?

Tsai immediately went to social media to scrutinize his #2 star. He is now holding a healthy NBA star against his will.

Teams are now waiting for Kyrie to get waived instead of trying to trade for him. Because that's the signal Tsai sent the entire league. He labeled his own player as an anti-Semite, and would not take him back even after a formal meeting with him, the NBA commissioner , and a 500k donation.

This is clearly an act out of bad faith and spite.

They are not waiving him unless they know for certain they cannot contend. Three outcomes to look in order of likeliness here is

1. Kyre gets traded to another team along with future picks and potentially even Cam Thomas to bring in a win now player ala AD, Shai, etc...

2. Kyrie stays with the team for the rest of the season(unlikely at this point)

3. Kyrie gets waived

[Riconet]

It's Buck Breaking.They are trying to use him as example to other black people. The problem is Kyrie didn't do anything antisemitic. I see if he did something on the level of Kyrie, but he didn't. He shared a link on twitter and a screenshot.

Ridiculous

[Stannis]

^^^

This is definitely getting worse. And I think Tsai is making it personal and seeking revenge. But as an NBA owner, shouldn't you do what is best for your team and seek the best return on your investment?

Tsai immediately went to social media to scrutinize his #2 star. He is now holding a healthy NBA star against his will.

Teams are now waiting for Kyrie to get waived instead of trying to trade for him. Because that's the signal Tsai sent the entire league. He labeled his own player as an anti-Semite, and would not take him back even after a formal meeting with him, the NBA commissioner , and a 500k donation.

This is clearly an act out of bad faith and spite.

They are not waiving him unless they know for certain they cannot contend. Three outcomes to look in order of likeliness here is

1. Kyre gets traded to another team along with future picks and potentially even Cam Thomas to bring in a win now player ala AD, Shai, etc...

2. Kyrie stays with the team for the rest of the season(unlikely at this point)

3. Kyrie gets waived

I def don't think they are getting AD or Shai. I think Tsai threw all those possibilities out the window and lost all leverage in a Kyrie trade. Now every team wanting to deal for Kyrie feels like they are in the driver's seat because they feel they are giving the Nets a favor by taking Kyrie off their hands. Nets might get an expiring + some protected picks. But there has to be multiple suitors competing with each other.

While slim, I think there's still the chance Kyrie gets waived if Tsai really wants to stick to his guns and "beliefs". If he truly believes Kyrie is anti-Semite and can no longer get return for him, then it's time to cut him loose and not associate your team with him any longer. Otherwise, he's just being a hypocrite. If you truly believe, your player is a racist, why hold onto him?

[Educator]

Any comparison to "buck breaking" should be dismissed outright as absolute idiocy as should any attempt to paint Irving as a victim in any way.

Irving did not just post a link to an anti-Semitic video. He promoted the video, refused to apologize and attacked reporters when questioned on it, posted a statement on Instagram in which he didn't actually apologize, and doubled and tripled down when questioned upon it by reporters again. It was a series of conduct which led to him being "unfit" to be associated with the team.

There is nothing excessive about the conditions to return, aside from the donation (which I suspect isn't actually a condition but more like something Tsai wants Irving to honor since Irving's previous donation was rejected by the ADL). The rest can likely be completed in a single afternoon.

Negative actions have consequences and as the boss, Joe Tsai can outline what those consequences are. This is not a difficult concept.

[MrDollarBills]

Any comparison to "buck breaking" should be dismissed outright as absolute idiocy as should any attempt to paint Irving as a victim in any way.

Irving did not just post a link to an anti-Semitic video. He promoted the video, refused to apologize and attacked reporters when questioned on it, posted a statement on Instagram in which he didn't actually apologize, and doubled and tripled down when questioned upon it by reporters again. It was a series of conduct which led to him being "unfit" to be associated with the team.

There is nothing excessive about the conditions to return, aside from the donation (which I suspect isn't actually a condition but more like something Tsai wants Irving to honor since Irving's previous donation was rejected by the ADL). The rest can likely be completed in a single afternoon.

Negative actions have consequences and as the boss, Joe Tsai can outline what those consequences are. This is not a difficult concept.

I work for a very well known company. If I ever got caught doing what Kyrie did I would be fired for cause. How anyone can say that the Nets are "buck breaking" him, which is so offensive I don't know where to begin, or otherwise is beyond me. He's lucky he was even given a chance to come back at all

[MrDollarBills]

First of all, I don't like Joe Tsai or support him. I just wanted to make that clear.

Second, I can't say I blame him if he isn't convinced because of the way Kyrie behaved when the team gave him an EASY off ramp to apologize for making a mistake and moving on. Does Kyrie's behavior during that press conference the other day look like someone who was contrite and fully understanding his actions? It didn't look like it to me. He needs to show it through his actions.

I don't think the demand list is excessive at all outside of the $500k thing. I don't think he should be forced to do that unless it's coming from a place of sincerity. But having to meet with Adam Silver, Joe Tsai, and Jewish Community leaders to have a dialogue is excessive to you? Taking a course on sensitivity training and antisemitism is excessive? Yall act like he's being forced to get on his knees and beg for his job back. He's not. He's being asked to be accountable to the team, league, and the community his actions have hurt.

Kyrie is not an innocent victim. He promoted antisemitism, that is a punishable offense. He's not a victim because he's been suspended. He still has yet to sit down with Jewish community leaders to talk...what's so unreasonable about that? Why not have dialogue and come to understanding with the people who he threw under the bus with his actions?

Joe Tsai is scum, but that doesn't give Kyrie a pass to just do whatever he wants and then be coddled by people who take antisemitism lightly. Promoting an antiemetic work on his platform which has millions of followers is a pretty big deal.

If Luka tweeted out a link to a white supremacist propaganda book that claimed that slavery was a myth, lynchings did not happen and that Black people are lazy, low IQ sex crazed degenerates, would that be okay too or nah?

Luka would be taken to the woodshed. I see no difference here with what is happening to Kyrie. You don't promote hate, period. Especially if you have a platform as large as he does.

It's been 4 years of this horsesh*t with Kyrie that has culminated with him committing an egregious offense. He brought all of that on himself.

Understood. And I wasn't trying to label you as a Tsai supporter or anything like that. So apologies if that's what you thought. I was just saying the NBPA and Adam Silver along with Kyrie have all been pretty much on the same page regarding social justice and racism. And it seems like they still are now as the NBPA has expressed their concern that Tsai is being unreasonable. Yet, it seems like it's ok to just allow Tsai to make these absurd demands, and Kyrie now has to follow his guidelines for what is considered social justice.

You probably know Kyrie more than me. But he always looked and sounded like a monotone guy to me. So I don't expect him to come off as overly emotional. So it's pretty meaningless to say "he's not sorry enough". Well.. the guy was never that emotional anyways. At least not on the surface, even when I watched his anti-vax and flat-earth stuff.

I think the $500k is out of bounds, but everything else seems like a reasonable ask if Kyrie is truly contrite and wants to repair relationships with the community first and foremost. And for someone like him who is curious and wants to learn, why not sit and build a rapport with Jewish folks? It benefits everyone involved.

The sad part is, Kyrie has done a lot of good during his basketball career off the court, especially during his time here where we've seen him quietly do good things without fanfare, to where I don't want to think that he's truly as hateful as the content he shared. But the way he acted when pressed was not good. I'm hoping that what Adam Silver said was an honest assessment after he sat down and talked to him.

But yeah man f*ck Joe Tsai. That genocide stuff is beyond the pale and I dunno how there is no outrage towards him in the public eye.

[Stannis]

I'm hoping that what Adam Silver said was an honest assessment after he sat down and talked to him.

Why would it not be an honest assessment?

As NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver is a neutral in this fiasco.

Tsai has a reason to make a wrong assessment. But as NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver really has no reason to make false assessments. That's why I think this is all so dumb. If Adam Silver said Kyrie Irving isn't anti-Semite, that should be the end of it.

[MrDollarBills]

I'm hoping that what Adam Silver said was an honest assessment after he sat down and talked to him.

Why would it not be an honest assessment?

As NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver is a neutral in this fiasco.

Tsai has a reason to make a wrong assessment. But as NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver really has no reason to make false assessments. That's why I think this is all so dumb. If Adam Silver said Kyrie Irving isn't anti-Semite, that should be the end of it.

No argument from me on that one.

[ChuckS]

I work for a very well known company. If I ever got caught doing what Kyrie did I would be fired for cause. How anyone can say that the Nets are "buck breaking" him, which is so offensive I don't know where to begin, or otherwise is beyond me. He's lucky he was even given a chance to come back at all

As I understand it, you are correct, and private enterprises are not treated the same as governments when it comes to the first amendment. But NBA players are not treated differently from any employee whose company has a union contract. Ultimately dismissals, or other punishments, can be appealed. In those instances things like willfulness, intent, and other mitigating factors, can be argued, and even taken beyond the employer, usually to an arbitrator. In those cases anything can happen.

I never heard of "buck breaking" until now, and the analogy might seem ridiculous. But since it would be grossly illegal today, I understand some using it to address more subtle modern actions.

[TheNetsFan]

I'm hoping that what Adam Silver said was an honest assessment after he sat down and talked to him.

Why would it not be an honest assessment?

As NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver is a neutral in this fiasco.

Tsai has a reason to make a wrong assessment. But as NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver really has no reason to make false assessments. That's why I think this is all so dumb. If Adam Silver said Kyrie Irving isn't anti-Semite, that should be the end of it.

No argument from me on that one.

Silver is not neutral in this. He's the one that blocked the Nets from hiring Udoka. He's the one that put pressure on the Nets after they allowed Kyrie to play after the incident. He inserted himself as part of the Kyrie reinstatement process. Silver hides behind "team decisions" in order to maintain his player friendly facade. Stern was far more direct and transparent.

[TheNetsFan]

If he's not traded, I would target Thanksgiving Eve in Toronto for Kyrie's return. Holiday weekend, big football weekend, people in a relatively good mood. The hope would be that his return can kind of fly under the radar for a couple games and be old news by Monday's return to normalcy. He can even spin it saying how Thankful he is for the second chance, for his teammates, etc.

[Saint Lazarus]

If he's not traded, I would target Thanksgiving Eve in Toronto for Kyrie's return. Holiday weekend, big football weekend, people in a relatively good mood. The hope would be that his return can kind of fly under the radar for a couple games and be old news by Monday's return to normalcy. He can even spin it saying how Thankful he is for the second chance, for his teammates, etc.

Kyrie is Native American, he **** hates Thanksgiving. He def ain't gonna swallow his pride on the one day he absolutely hates.

[NyCeEvO]

Why would it not be an honest assessment?

As NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver is a neutral in this fiasco.

Tsai has a reason to make a wrong assessment. But as NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver really has no reason to make false assessments. That's why I think this is all so dumb. If Adam Silver said Kyrie Irving isn't anti-Semite, that should be the end of it.

No argument from me on that one.

Silver is not neutral in this. He's the one that blocked the Nets from hiring Udoka. He's the one that put pressure on the Nets after they allowed Kyrie to play after the incident. He inserted himself as part of the Kyrie reinstatement process. Silver hides behind "team decisions" in order to maintain his player friendly facade. Stern was far more direct and transparent.

I agree with you, but I think Stannis meant that Silver's judgment of Kyrie not being antisemitic was genuine, not that Silver hasn't been involved or doesn't have a particular vision for how the situation should play out/be resolved.

Tsai and the Nets organization showed how they intended to handle the situation in the first few days of the ordeal before the league stepped in: Kyrie was going to continue to play, but wouldn't speak to the media. Sean Marks literally said that Kyrie/the situation needs time to cool off before he resumes media sessions and that the Nets had no intentions of releasing Kyrie. The Nets and Kyrie also released a joint statement and were going to donate $500,000 to ADL. That was their resolution.

Everything changed once the league stepped in. Silver openly said that the joint statement was not enough and that Kyrie needed to apologize in a particular fashion. Tsai didn't require any of that before Silver got involved. Tsai didn't suddenly gain a 'strong moral compass' out of nowhere.

[MrDollarBills]

I work for a very well known company. If I ever got caught doing what Kyrie did I would be fired for cause. How anyone can say that the Nets are "buck breaking" him, which is so offensive I don't know where to begin, or otherwise is beyond me. He's lucky he was even given a chance to come back at all

As I understand it, you are correct, and private enterprises are not treated the same as governments when it comes to the first amendment. But NBA players are not treated differently from any employee whose company has a union contract. Ultimately dismissals, or other punishments, can be appealed. In those instances things like willfulness, intent, and other mitigating factors, can be argued, and even taken beyond the employer, usually to an arbitrator. In those cases anything can happen.

I never heard of "buck breaking" until now, and the analogy might seem ridiculous. But since it would be grossly illegal today, I understand some using it to address more subtle modern actions.

The people who use that term to describe this situation are unhinged.

[MGrand15]

BTW this is another situation where Kyrie is not rushing to get back.

He could've had this all figured out so he'd be back right after the 5 game suspension.

As usual, he's taking his sweet time. If he was serious, he would've either worked hard to get back ASAP or appealed the suspension right away.

Kyrie's army can blame the Nets but this BS only happens with Kyrie.

[Educator]

BTW this is another situation where Kyrie is not rushing to get back.

He could've had this all figured out so he'd be back right after the 5 game suspension.

As usual, he's taking his sweet time. If he was serious, he would've either worked hard to get back ASAP or appealed the suspension right away.

Kyrie's army can blame the Nets but this BS only happens with Kyrie.

Correct. The only reason Irving is not back on the floor already is because he refuses to do what's necessary to be back on the floor. Even if he felt the punishment was unfair, he could have simply taken it on the chin and complied with it to help his team, but instead, once again, he puts his grossly misguided views ahead of his team.

How any Nets fan can possibly support this guy is beyond me.

[MGrand15]

BTW this is another situation where Kyrie is not rushing to get back.

He could've had this all figured out so he'd be back right after the 5 game suspension.

As usual, he's taking his sweet time. If he was serious, he would've either worked hard to get back ASAP or appealed the suspension right away.

Kyrie's army can blame the Nets but this BS only happens with Kyrie.

Correct. The only reason Irving is not back on the floor already is because he refuses to do what's necessary to be back on the floor. Even if he felt the punishment was unfair, he could have simply taken it on the chin and complied with it to help his team, but instead, once again, he puts his grossly misguided views ahead of his team.

How any Nets fan can possibly support this guy is beyond me.

Exactly. Or if you feel it's unfair, appeal immediately.

[NetsWorld]

BTW this is another situation where Kyrie is not rushing to get back.

He could've had this all figured out so he'd be back right after the 5 game suspension.

As usual, he's taking his sweet time. If he was serious, he would've either worked hard to get back ASAP or appealed the suspension right away.

Kyrie's army can blame the Nets but this BS only happens with Kyrie.

Correct. The only reason Irving is not back on the floor already is because he refuses to do what's necessary to be back on the floor. Even if he felt the punishment was unfair, he could have simply taken it on the chin and complied with it to help his team, but instead, once again, he puts his grossly misguided views ahead of his team.

How any Nets fan can possibly support this guy is beyond me.

I absolutely do not support Irving, and I’m factoring in how everything culminated these past three years; but sadly, we know have players who won’t come here. Jaylen Brown spoke up and many in the league feel the same way. I think as a franchise, this whole thing could have been avoided if we didn’t take on Irving three years
Ago. We would have been better off tanking hard for Victor instead of investing so much money for it to go to waste. Everyone and their mother turned on the Nets because of this man. Kyrie Irving is a manipulator and this franchise has reached stage 4 cancer because of his drama. There’s always an excuse and the Nets have to keep on answering Qs about this man. I hate this league and I strongly dislike Kyrie and I absolutely hate Joe Genocide. **** you Kai. This is what happens when you
keep being detrimental to a franchise:

[Riconet]

The people who use that term to describe this situation are unhinged.

I think this is actually being too kind to the people using that term ("buck-breaking").

I think accusing others of racism in a situation like this -- i.e. where a black person has done something unacceptable and is being held accountable for it -- is a weak, low-character, petulant, destructive and dishonest move. Sadly, this type of race-baiting has become pretty common, and it's a major contributing factor IMHO to the growing divisiveness in our society.

[MrDollarBills]

The people who use that term to describe this situation are unhinged.

I think this is actually being too kind to the people using that term ("buck-breaking").

I think accusing others of racism in a situation like this -- i.e. where a black person has done something unacceptable and is being held accountable for it -- is a weak, low-character, petulant, destructive and dishonest move. Sadly, this type of race-baiting has become pretty common, and it's a major contributing factor IMHO to the growing divisiveness in our society.

This is not a racial situation and I am kind of miffed that we have people trying to make it into one. Jaylen Brown needs to fall tf back because he already looks suspect through his association with Kanye West.

Kyrie is the one that used his platform to promote antisemitism. The Nets were more than fair with how they handled it initially, but then he went and doubled down on it in front of TV cameras like a moron. What did anyone expect to happen after that?

But to compare asking Kyrie to attend sensitivity training and meet with community leaders to have a discussion to enslaved men being flayed and raped is so disgusting that I don't know where to begin.

It's clearly obvious that the people who use this rhetoric don't want Kyrie to be held accountable for his actions.