Kyrie Irving says he didn’t tell security to take away signs from Rabbi Avremi Zippel and three other rabbis at Monday night’s game in Utah.
A representative for Irving said he didn’t complain, and there wasn’t any trouble with Rabbi Zippel. Irving never talked to Zippel, who was sitting close to the court at the Delta Center. Neither Irving nor anyone from Dallas’ team asked for the signs to be taken down. Irving’s team also said no one from Dallas complained to the Jazz about the signs that said, “I’m a Jew and I’m proud.”
Zippel shared his side of the story, saying, “In the tunnel, we talked to Jazz executives. One of them said the request to remove the signs came from the Dallas bench. The head of Jazz team security got the request and told arena security.”
Kyrie Irving says he didn’t tell security to take away signs from Rabbi Avremi Zippel
Zippel, a Jazz fan, wanted to send a message to Irving after he shared a link to an antisemitic film on social media last year. Irving was suspended from the Nets for it.
During the game, Irving noticed the sign and said, “Nice, I’m a Jew, too,” showing his Star of David tattoo. Zippel felt irritated but kept things friendly. Then Irving allegedly got upset and said, “Don’t gotta bring something like that to the game,” according to Zippel. Security later told the rabbis to put the signs away.
The Jazz said the signs broke the fan code of conduct, causing a distraction during the game. Irving’s rep referred to the Jazz’s statement, saying it was their rule to ask fans to remove signs.
