CJ McCollum on Kyrie Irving: 'The important part was he did apologize' / News - Basketnews.com

The president of the NBA Players Association CJ McCollum emphasized that Kyrie Irving's apology is the most important thing. McCollum told that the NBAPA didn't address Irving directly because he was still gathering information.

Credit: AFP, AP - Scanpix Credit AFP, AP - Scanpix

Kyrie Irving has been at the center of public attention the last week for his promotion of an antisemitic movie on his Twitter account. The guard has since been suspended by the Brooklyn Nets.

C.J. McCollum

Team:New Orleans PelicansPosition:PG, SGAge:31Height:191 cmWeight:89 kgBirth place:Canton, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Before the organization's move, the player doubled down on his earlier words and actions. After the suspension, Irving released his first apology on his Instagram account. NBA Player's Association president CJ McCollum commented on the situation.

"I think the important part was he did apologize," McCollum told ESPN. "He's displayed empathy now. I think this is a learning experience in which I don't think he understood the magnitude of the movie because he didn't watch it."

"I don't think he understood the magnitude of the people that were affected, how they were impacted and how fast hate can spread and how this can snowball," the NBAPA president said.

Both NBAPA and the NBA were criticized for not addressing Irving and his controversy directly for multiple days until everything unraveled on Thursday. Instead, both organizations had previously released generic statements about stopping hate and antisemitism.

"I had conversations behind the scenes similar to what I'm having now," McCollum told. "I'm speaking to the league. I'm speaking to people in positions of power. I'm speaking to people with a Jewish background to gain more information, more knowledge personally."

"This is an ongoing situation, so I don't feel comfortable speaking about certain things yet as I didn't feel comfortable speaking to certain things regarding Sarver because I was still gathering information and they were still deliberating on what decisions to be made," the player explained.

The vast majority of the players are still silent about the glaring issue in the league. Regarding the actions of the NBAPA members, McCollum did not want to comment.

"I can't speak to players' reactions and what players are doing in their spare time," he said.

The Nets have since set a 6-rule plan for Irving's return from suspension.

Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.