Brown Seals: I don’t support the Barclays protesters

CHICAGO — Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said he did not support the group of protesters who lined up Sunday outside the Barclays Center before Kyrie Irving’s return from suspension, stressing that he was happy to see the support of the Brooklyn Nets guard to play again. .

Members of Israel United in Christ, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, handed out leaflets before Sunday’s game that read: “The Truth About Anti-Semitism” and “The Truth About Slavery.”

On Monday, Brown said he didn’t catch the group’s message when he retweeted a video of the group with the caption, “Energy.”

“I’ve seen a large group of our community members show their support for [Kyrie] And his return, Brown said Monday. I am proud of this support and that I am proud of our community for doing so does not mean that I endorse or celebrate some of the things that have been done or said.

“My instinct when I saw this was that I didn’t notice which group it was. I just noticed the support, and that’s what I commented on. I reiterate that I don’t think everything that is said, done, or said is something that I endorse or represent.”

Brown tried to clarify his initial tweet with a follow up Sunday night that he believed it was an Omega psi phi fraternity showing support for Irving, and said he had no idea deleting his initial tweet because it would remove his support for Irving and his life. return.

Brown said he simply wanted to promote “black and white people standing together on our issues instead of seeing images of violence in our media, music and movies that we don’t fully promote or capitalize on”.

The Browns, who represented Irving, one of the vice presidents of the National Basketball Players Association, criticized Nets owner Joe Tsai for the way the organization handled Irving’s suspension, which lasted eight games due to what the team described as “the detrimental effect of him.” Behavior related to social media posts about a book and movie that contain anti-Semitic themes.

The Browns expressed unease with the terms the Nets had set for Irving to return to the court.

“I have been in contact as a guild member, as a former teammate just to show support for the situation. [Irving’s] Brown said. “Being exiled from the game, of course, is emotionally a big deal in our league, but it’s a lot for everyone who’s a fan of the game.

“Kyrie has contributed in so many ways to the game of basketball, so for him to come back down to earth last night, I thought it was something to celebrate. I thought that was something to support. We are progressing. I support this decision.”