LOS ANGELES — Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton said Wednesday that it is OK for activists to criticize Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving for actions that have been perceived as antisemitic.
"I think that we need to really be careful that those of us that have fought racism in the Black community that we cannot in any way, even inadvertently, normalize being bigots against others," Sharpton told TMZ. "... We've got to be consistent, and if people say things wrong, they need to be held to the same account that we know when people say things wrong about us."
After using social media to share a link to a movie that contains antisemitic material last week, Irving was combative with reporters over the matter, refusing to apologize or state unequivocally that he has no antisemitic beliefs. It was only after he was suspended at least five games by the Nets for not taking responsibility for the actions that Irving finally did say he's sorry.
