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During the Monday episode of his radio show, an emotional Rich Eisen — who is a Jewish man — ripped into Kyrie Irving for his recent anti-Semitic comments and his apparent unwillingness to reconsider his opinions.
Over the weekend, Irving shared a link to a film titled Hebrews to Negroes, which is a movie that’s reportedly filled with anti-Semitic tropes. Then, when questioned about it by reporters, Irving got defensive, did not apologize, and said he was not going to “stand down.”
“I’m not gonna stand down on anything I believe in,” Irving said during an exchange with ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “I’m only gonna get stronger and stronger because I’m not alone. I have a whole army around me.”
Rich Eisen addressed Kyrie Irving’s recent string of anti-Semitic comments and said he’s dehumanizing him and his family
Eisen, one of the most prominent Jewish voices in sports media, addressed Irving’s comments on Monday and particularly locked onto Irving’s claims that ESPN’s Nick Friedell was “dehumanizing” him with his line of questioning.
“Maybe he needs to hear it from me. You’re dehumanizing me, Kyrie. I’m a Jewish man, a descendant of people who died in gas chambers and got incinerated by Nazis,” Eisen said.
“You’re dehumanizing me by putting on your platform a book and a movie that is filled with anti-Semitic tropes that are designed, or eventually lead to, the dehumanization of me and my children and my ancestors who died because they were Jewish.”
"I know what anti-Semitic tropes look like, what they sound like and what they feel like."@richeisen on the dangerous behavior of @KyrieIrving:#NBA #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/N70dM8Gbg1
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) October 31, 2022
With this latest string of comments and stances, it seems like Irving has truly sunk his value to such an extent that it’s hard to imagine the Brooklyn Nets being able to get rid of him unless they cut him.