Kyrie Irving: NBPA expected to appeal Nets star suspension / News - Basketnews.com

NBPA vice president Jaylen Brown expects that NBPA will appeal Kyrie Irving's suspension from the Brooklyn Nets.

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NBA Players Association (NBPA) vice president Jaylen Brown believes the suspension of Kyrie Irving will be appealed.

After the controversy surrounding antisemitism, the Brooklyn Nets suspended Irving for a minimum of five games. Furthermore, the Nets set six guidelines Irving must meet before he can return to the team:

a condemnation of the movie; a meeting with Nets owner Joe Tsai; a meeting with Jewish leaders and members of the Anti-Defamation League; sensitivity training; antisemitic training; a $500,000 donation to anti-hate causes.

Brown told the Globe Monday morning that the NBPA believes those conditions are too stringent, especially when there is no guideline that addresses social media posts in the collective bargaining agreement. He said the NBPA is expected to appeal.

"I don't believe Kyrie Irving is antisemitic," Brown said. "I don't think people in our governing bodies think he's antisemitic. He made a mistake. We understand from an outside perspective how important sensitivity is to not condone hate speech and not condone anything of that nature. It's sensitivity to the dialect around that.

"We don't want to stand up for somebody in order to not condemn hate speech, but I don't believe Kyrie Irving is antisemitic. And hopefully, the NBA feels the same way," Brown added.

Brown said Irving's future and how the league approaches the issue of expression on social media could be clarified after the meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

"There is an interesting distinction between what somebody says verbally and what somebody posts as a link on a platform with no description behind it," Brown said. "Some people will argue there's no difference, and some people will argue there is a difference. There's no language in our CBA. There are no rules against it. This is uncharted territory for everybody, and everybody is trying to figure out the difference between the two."

"But I'm expecting the NBPA to appeal the suspension from Brooklyn. The terms, etc., that went into his return. The terms for his return, they seem like a lot, and a lot of the players expressed discomfort with the terms," Brown added.

Irving will be out for at least three more games, and it is uncertain if he is willing to meet the Nets' requirements for his return.

This season, Irving played 8 games for the Nets, averaging 26.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists.

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