Free Republic

Former NBA player turned activist Enes Freedom has called out Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai for allegedly supporting the Uyghur genocide in China. Freedom called Tsai a hypocrite after he called out his star guard Kyrie Irving for helping promote an antisemitic film on social media. Replying to Tsai's post about Irving on Twitter, Freedom praised the Nets owner for calling out his player. However, he also called Tsai a hypocrite because of his support for China's alleged human rights violations against the Uyghur people. "I applaud you for condemning Kyrie Irving after multiple antisemitic incidents," Freedom wrote. "It's time...

The Brooklyn Nets suspended Kyrie Irving for at least five games without pay Thursday, dismayed by his repeated failure to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs." Hours after Irving refused to issue the apology NBA commissioner Adam Silver sought for posting a link to an antisemitic work on his Twitter feed, the Nets said Irving is "currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets." "We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not...

The vaccine mandate imposed by New York City has turned out to be extremely costly for one of the NBA's best players, Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving. He said Monday that he was given an ultimatum, get vaccinated with one of the experimental mRNA COVID-19 vaccines or forgo a contract extension worth more than $100 million. If he chose to be unvaccinated, Irving said, he was told by management "there's a level of uncertainty of your future, whether you're going to be in this league, whether you're going to be on this team." "It's not giving somebody an ultimatum to...

NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving says he turned down a four-year extension prior to the 2021-22 season because of his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19. "I gave up four years, 100-and-something million deciding to be unvaccinated and that was the decision," Irving said during Nets media day on Monday. "[Get this] contract, get vaccinated or be unvaccinated and there's a level of uncertainty of your future, whether you're going to be in this league, whether you're going to be on this team, so I had to deal with that real-life circumstance of losing my job...

When Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov sold the Brooklyn Nets more than two years ago, he gave up ownership of the NBA franchise partly because of pressure from Vladimir Putin, The Post has learned. Events that led Prokhorov’s 2019 sale of the Nets and Barclays Center to Chinese billionaire Joe Tsai stretch back five years earlier, according to sources close to the situation. At the time, the US and European Union had begun to apply sanctions on Russia for taking over Crimea. But as tensions between the US and Russia over Crimea grew, Putin in 2016 also began pressuring Prokhorov to...

The Brooklyn Nets are bringing back All-Star guard Kyrie Irving as a part-time player for games outside of New York, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The unfolding circumstances of Brooklyn's season - including injuries, players lost to health and safety protocols and an inordinate minutes load on their superstar players led the team to this move, sources said. So far, Irving has been unwilling to satisfy New York City mandates and become vaccinated to play home games, but the turbulence of the ongoing NBA season has caused the organization to reconsider their preseason decision to fully sideline Irving, sources said....

NEW YORK -- A group of protesters gathered outside Barclays Center waving flags and signs while chanting, "No vaccine mandate, stand with Kyrie" before the Brooklyn Nets' home opener against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Around 100 people stood in the plaza outside the arena and on the street blocking traffic on Flatbush Avenue, many showing their support for Nets point guard Kyrie Irving's decision not to get at least one vaccination shot to comply with New York City's mandate in order to play home games. At one point, a few of the protesters pushed barriers and got to the...

The Brooklyn Nets won’t allow basketball star Kyrie Irving to participate in any team activities until he receives the COVID-19 vaccine, the team announced Tuesday. “Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose,” it continued. “Currently, the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not...

Must everything be about race? Can nothing be about merit? Can owners of a sports franchise no longer hire the person they believe is best qualified without making it into an issue of race? I’m talking here about the claim of the popular (and controversial) sports commentator Stephen A. Smith that the hiring of NBA great Steve Nash to coach the Brooklyn Nets can only be explained on the basis of “White privilege.” To be sure, Smith loves Nash as a person and has the highest respect for him as a basketball player. In no way is he criticizing Nash,...

Celebrities, politicians and professional athletes faced a backlash this week as many revealed that they had been tested for the coronavirus, even when they didn’t have a fever or other tell-tale symptoms. That’s fueling a perception that the wealthy and famous have been able to jump to the head of the line to get tested while others have been turned away or met with long delays. The concerns over preferential treatment underscore a fundamental truth about inequalities baked into the American health care system — those with the financial means can often receive a different level of service. Asked about...

The Chinese government asked the N.B.A. to fire a team executive who posted on social media in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, the league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, said on Thursday in his first public appearance in the United States since returning from a contentious trip to Asia. “We said there’s no chance that’s happening,” Silver said. “There’s no chance we’ll even discipline him.” The executive, Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, set off the international firestorm with a Twitter post using a slogan used by the protesters in Hong Kong, just as the league was...

Free-agent All-NBA star Kevin Durant plans to sign a four-year, $164 million contract to play for the Brooklyn Nets, he confirmed Sunday. Durant will join free agents Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, who also plan to sign with the franchise. Players can officially sign their contracts starting Saturday. Irving will sign for four years and $141 million, league sources said, while Jordan has agreed to a four-year, $40 million deal, Excel Sports agent Jeff Schwartz told ESPN. Veteran guard Garrett Temple has also agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal with Brooklyn, agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPN. The deals mark...

Huma Abedin forwarded sensitive State Department emails, including passwords to government systems, to her personal Yahoo email account before every single Yahoo account was hacked, a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of emails released as part of a lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch shows. Abedin, the top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, used her insecure personal email provider to conduct sensitive work. This guarantees that an account with high-level correspondence in Clinton’s State Department was impacted by one or more of a series of breaches — at least one of which was perpetrated by a “state-sponsored actor.”...

At least three NBA teams have stopped staying at Donald Trump-branded hotels this season in part to avoid any implied association with the new president-elect, according to league sources. Sources told ESPN.com that the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks have moved away from Trump hotels in New York City and Chicago, which bear Donald Trump's name through a licensing agreement. Sources say that another Eastern Conference team contracted to stay at the Trump SoHo in New York this season has likewise already decided to switch to a different property in Manhattan when its current contract expires at season's...

Ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy recently accused the NBA of coercing referees to help the Brooklyn Nets defeat the less glamorous Toronto Raptors in their first round playoff series. This echoes previous claims by Donaghy about the NBA manipulating games. The most notorious example is Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals, when the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers staved off elimination by defeating the Sacramento Kings. Donaghy alleged that two referees (understood to be Dick Bavetta and Bob Delaney) fixed the game. Donaghy was convicted of betting on games so he may not seem a reliable accuser, but...

Jay-Z causes controversy by wearing gaudy medallion of 'Five Percent Nation' group who believe whites are 'wicked and weak' • The Brooklyn-born rapper wore a medallion representing the Five Percent Nation at a Nets game last week • One of the main tenets of the Nation of Islam offshoot is that white people are 'weak and wicked' and that black men hold the power of God • When asked if the medallion holds any importance to him, Jay-Z said: 'A little bit' • Jay-Z was spotted wearing the nation's symbol last year while giving radio interviews for his new album,...

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov on Monday reiterated plans to relocate the company that owns the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets to Russia as Washington and Moscow continue to trade sanctions. The comments come as the Kremlin has called on Russian businessmen to repatriate assets to help offset the economic and financial penalties from West. A law approved by the Kremlin last year prohibits Russians who are seeking top government posts from holding bank accounts or direct shareholdings in companies abroad. “A Russian company will own the basketball club,” Prokhorov said on Monday, according to Reuters. “This (move) does not violate any NBA...

Coach of the month in November, out of a job by New Year's. The Brooklyn Nets have elevated expectations this season, and a .500 record wasn't good enough. Coach Avery Johnson was fired Thursday, his team having lost 10 of 13 games after a strong start to its first season in Brooklyn. "We don't have the same fire now than we did when we were 11-4," general manager Billy King said at a news conference in East Rutherford, N.J. "I tried to talk to Avery about it and we just can't figure it out. The same pattern kept on happening."...

(CHICAGO, IL) Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. today said he was dismayed over the dismissal of New Jersey Nets coach Byron Scott. “To fire the winningest coach in the history of the team, a coach who has led them to two conference titles, seems absurd,” Jackson said. “But, this is a business, and Byron knew the risks. The fact that the Nets wouldn’t give him a contract extension was a warning sign. Hopefully, he will bounce back next year with another team. He certainly deserves it.” Jackson said he had followed Scott’s career since he was in college. “This was...