NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving stopped short of formally apologizing Thursday for his controversial social media post about a book and movie that feature antisemitic tropes — the way many in both the Brooklyn Nets organization and the NBA league office were hoping to hear.
“I take my responsibility for posting that,” Irving said in his first public comments since a contentious news conference Saturday night. “Some things that were questionable in there, untrue. Like I said in the first time you guys asked me when I was sitting on that stage, I don’t believe everything that everybody posts — it’s a documentary. So I take my responsibility.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, in a statement released minutes before Irving spoke, said he was “disappointed” that Irving “has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize.”
But Irving stood his ground again Thursday regarding both his decision to post the link to the film and his postgame comments Saturday night.
“I didn’t mean to cause any harm,” Irving said. “I’m not the one that made the documentary.”
Irving spoke for just over six minutes Thursday in a press conference that was cut short by a Nets PR staffer.
When asked specifically if he had any antisemitic beliefs, Irving chose to not directly answer the question.
“Again, I’m going to repeat. I don’t know how the label becomes justified because you guys ask me the same questions over and over again,” Irving said. “But this is not going to turn into a spin-around cycle — questions upon questions.
“I told you guys how I felt. I respect all walks of life and embrace all walks of life. That’s where I sit. … I can not be antisemitic if I know where I come from.”
Irving also declined to directly answer whether he directly met with the Anti-Defamation League, which had released a joint statement Wednesday night with the Nets and Irving.
“I was informed that they wanted to have a meeting, and we handled it,” he said.