How Can Kyrie Irving Apologize to the Jewish Community?

The latest news in the ongoing Kyrie Irving scandal is that the star point guard is required to complete six steps before being allowed to rejoin the team. Per NBA insider Shams Charania, Irving must apologize and condemn the antisemitic movie he initially posted on Twitter, donate $500K to anti-hate causes, undergo sensitivity and antisemitism trainings, meet with the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish leaders, and meet with Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai in order to demonstrate understanding.

Are these steps enough?

A famous Hasidic parable on the power of words compares our speech to a pillow full of feathers. Once the pillow has been torn open, the feathers will spread far and wide. If one attempts to retrieve the pillows’ feathers - or undo the damage of one’s words - it is quickly evident that such a task is nearly impossible.

The difficult truth is that Irving’s words have already caused irreparable damage to the Jewish community. While the initial tweet may have been shared with only the basketball star’s 4 million followers, it is hard to quantify how many more people have become aware of the film and book’s antisemitic content as a direct result of his actions. According to recent reporting, the hateful film and book’s popularity has surged to become a #1 release in the most recent period. That is a lot of feathers.

While Irving may be unable to collect all the feathers, or undo the impact of his actions, it is reassuring to hear that part of his reprimand includes an educational component. If our words have the power to harm an entire group of people, they also have the power to heal. It will take much more than one tweet, or one apology, for such healing words to match the spread of the hateful content Irving promoted. Sadly, it appears that we live in a period in which antisemitic speech spreads like wildfire, while the truth of Jewish history will not be front-page news.

Even if Kyrie is unable to fully repair the impact of his words on the safety and wellbeing of the Jewish community, it is still possible for him to ask for forgiveness and atonement. Maimonides offers a four-step model for healing harmful actions done between persons:

1. As an initial step, Irving must fully acknowledge the harm of sharing antisemitic propaganda on the internet, and stop sharing such misinformation in any form.
2. In addition to his written apology, Irving must confess verbally in detail the exact nature of his hateful deeds, specifically outlining the falsehoods contained in the antisemitic film.
3. Such an apology must be sincere and contain genuine regret. Kyrie needs to express his empathy for contributing to the rising threat of antisemitism, and his sadness at placing Jewish lives in danger. As a bonus, he can look deeply into himself and share how spreading hateful content has had a corrosive effect on his own wellbeing as well.
4. Finally, Irving must commit to never repeating such an action. Before tweeting, or speaking in the future on such issues pertaining to Jewish history, identity or the definition of antisemitism, he can promise to first consult with the Jewish community’s leading experts on such topics. As an NBA All-Star in New York City, he will have no problem accessing such resources to ensure that all his words pass the basic standard of representing the Jewish people accurately.

The financial penalty imposed on Irving will hopefully result in positive, long-term change, but is no substitute for a genuine and sincere apology. It is our deep wish that the six steps imposed by the Brooklyn Nets will inspire Irving to go above and beyond what is required of him to return to game play, and do what is truly enough to ask for forgiveness and express his regret to the Jewish community.

And as a community, it will be our duty to graciously accept his heartfelt apology.