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Deni Avdija, only active Jewish player in NBA, responds to Kyrie Irving controversy
"Hopefully he's sorry for what he said."
WASHINGTON – Following Washington’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, Wizards wing Deni Avdija answered questions for just over five minutes about the controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving. The Nets suspended Irving on Thursday for at least five games without pay after the point guard repeatedly refused to apologize for a social media post about an antisemitic film and book.
Avdija, 21, is the only active Jewish player in the NBA. He spoke to a group of reporters in the locker room at Capital One Arena.
“I’ve heard, I’ve seen. Listen, at the end of the day, I think [Irving’s] a role model, he’s a great player. I think he made a mistake, but you need to understand that he gives [examples] to people. People look up to him, you know what I’m saying?” Avdija said. “You can think whatever you want, you can do whatever you want. [But] I don’t think it’s right to go out and publish it and let little kids that follow you see it and generations that come after to think like that, because it’s not true. And I don’t think it’s fair. Hopefully he’s sorry for what he said.”
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Avdija has a unique status in the NBA. A pro overseas and Israeli national-team fixture since he was 16, Washington drafted Avdija ninth overall in 2020 and made him the first Israeli picked in the top 10 and only the second drafted in the first round. Fans across the country turn up at Wizards games sporting his jersey or carrying signs with his name.
As a result, Avdija bears a singular burden. In the two moments in which antisemitism has cropped up in the NBA in recent years – Meyers Leonard said an antisemitic slur while playing video game on a live stream in March 2021 – Avdija has been the only Wizards player asked to respond.
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It is not solely the responsibility of those discriminated against to denounce discrimination. But Avdija said Friday he understands he is a sort of standard-bearer for his faith as a prominent Jewish person in sports.
“I can give a big credit to the Jewish community, to the Israelis all over the world that show me the best support I’ve ever had,” he said. “I go to different places around the league, and the amount of support I get is outrageous, and it just makes me smile, it makes me keep going. It gives me motivation to work hard and represent my country, but in terms of things like that, it’s always going to be there. It’s never going away. It’s just if you want to pay attention to that stuff or you just want to keep moving and focus on important s—, important stuff in life. So, I’m a positive guy. I’m not looking for the bad things. If somebody say stuff like that, I think that’s his fault. He comes to a level that he’s being racist or talking about Jewish or Black people, I think that’s his problem.”
When asked if he felt the league responded appropriately to the controversy, Avdija said yes. In a statement Thursday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was disappointed in Irving’s handling of the situation and that he would be meeting with the point guard next week. The Nets suspended Irving later that night.
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“Yeah. I think there need to be consequences for the actions that players do,” Avdija said. “And I think I’m not – I don’t know the punishment that the league gives – but I think it needs to be known that there’s no room for words like that.”
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