Suspended Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has met with team, league and union officials on “several occasions” in recent days and there’s optimism for a resolution “very soon,” the National Basketball Players Association told its membership Friday in an email obtained by ESPN.
Nets owner Joe Tsai and his wife, Clara, on Thursday met with Irving, who was suspended for a minimum of five games for his initial failure to condemn and apologize for antisemitic material shared to his social media.
“It’s clear to me that Kyrie does not have any beliefs of hate toward Jewish people or any group,” Tsai posted to Twitter on Friday.
The Nets are leaving Friday for a four-game Western Conference road trip. Even with the fifth game of Irving’s suspension coming Saturday night against the LA Clippers, there appears to be no momentum for his return during this trip that extends through Portland on Thursday, sources told ESPN.
The Nets return home vs. Memphis on Nov. 20.
Irving is expected to engage with a number of constituencies — including meeting with leaders in the Jewish community — and make good-faith efforts to show the Nets and NBA of his sincerity before he’s cleared for a return to play.
Irving, who met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday, is serving a term as a vice president in the NBPA.
In the NBPA memo, the union maintains that “Kyrie’s rights, and the rights of all future players, have been protected at every turn,” and added, that the union “look(s) forward very soon to a resolution of all matters satisfactory to all parties.” The NBPA described the recent meetings as an “effort to deepen understanding and open clear lines of communication among all parties.”
The NBPA reiterated in the memo that Irving and the union “unequivocally condemn antisemitism and all other forms of hate.”
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