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    Spurs Psychologist Sues Joshua Primo, Saying He Exposed Himself to Her

    A sports psychologist for the San Antonio Spurs sued Joshua Primo and the team, saying the Spurs did not protect her after she complained to senior executives.A sports psychologist who worked for the San Antonio Spurs said in a lawsuit filed Thursday that Joshua Primo, a former lottery draft pick of the Spurs, repeatedly exposed himself to her during treatment sessions and that the team did not protect her and others after she reported his conduct.Dr. Hillary Cauthen, a licensed clinical psychologist who was contracted by the team in September 2021, said Primo first exposed his penis to her in December 2021. She asked for a meeting with Spurs General Manager Brian Wright, according to her complaint, but didn’t get one until March 2022. She was then asked to continue working with Primo, who again exposed himself to her in another session, according to a copy of her lawsuit, which was provided by her lawyer, Tony Buzbee.The filing was not immediately available from the court, but the clerk’s office in Bexar County, Texas, where San Antonio is located, confirmed that Dr. Cauthen filed a lawsuit against Primo and the Spurs on Thursday.Primo’s lawyer, William J. Briggs II, said in a statement that Primo “never intentionally exposed himself” to Dr. Cauthen or any other person. Primo was not aware his genitals were visible outside of his workout shorts, Briggs said, and Dr. Cauthen did not tell him they were.“Dr. Cauthen’s allegations are either a complete fabrication, a gross embellishment or utter fantasy,” Briggs said.The Spurs said in a statement: “We disagree with the accuracy of facts, details and timeline presented today. While we would like to share more information, we will allow the legal process to play out.”An N.B.A. spokesman said, “We are aware of the allegations and are monitoring the situation.”The Spurs cut Primo, the No. 12 pick in the 2021 N.B.A. draft, last Friday. The team did not explain the reasons behind the sudden move, which came five games into the season and two weeks after the team exercised the third-year option in Primo’s contract, guaranteeing his $4.3 million salary for the 2023-24 season.Buzbee, who represented two dozen women who accused N.F.L. quarterback Deshaun Watson of harassment and lewd conduct in massage appointments, said in a news conference Thursday that he and Dr. Cauthen were trying to resolve the issue privately and wanted the Spurs to put in place formal protocols for handling complaints like Dr. Cauthen’s. They filed a lawsuit against Primo and the Spurs after anonymously sourced news reports said that Primo was released because he exposed himself to multiple women.Dr. Hillary Cauthen at a news conference on Thursday.via KSAT PlusAccording to the copy of her lawsuit, Dr. Cauthen had multiple meetings with members of the Spurs organization, including Wright, the deputy general counsel and the head of human resources, after she complained about Primo’s conduct. The team promised to conduct an investigation but did not take immediate steps to discipline Primo or ensure she did not have to interact with him, Dr. Cauthen said.The team suggested she work from home and later told her to “sit out” traveling with the Spurs during the 2022 Summer League in Las Vegas after she said she was frustrated with the team’s inaction, her lawsuit said. Dr. Cauthen, who co-owns an Austin-based performance and psychological services company, said she was not retained by the Spurs when her contract came up for renewal in August.“The organization I worked for has failed me,” Dr. Cauthen said at the news conference. “I spoke up. I asked for help.”Buzbee said Dr. Cauthen will also file a criminal complaint in Bexar County, accusing Primo of multiple counts of indecent exposure.Primo was placed on waivers last weekend, which gave other teams the chance to claim him. No team did, and Primo became an unrestricted free agent.In a statement announcing that the team was waiving Primo, R.C. Buford, the chief executive of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, said, “It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua.” Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich declined to comment to reporters at the time.Until Dr. Cauthen’s lawsuit was filed, neither Primo nor the Spurs had directly addressed the reasons for his release. In a statement to ESPN last Friday, Primo said he had been seeking help to deal with “previous trauma” and would be focusing on his mental health treatment after his release.Buzbee called the public statements made by Primo and the Spurs “complete farces” and said they did not reflect what happened. Dr. Cauthen said she was “disheartened” by the situation.“It took the Spurs 10 months to do the right thing,” Dr. Cauthen said of the decision to waive Primo. “That’s too long.” More

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    Kyrie Irving to Donate $500,000 After Promoting Antisemitic Movie

    Irving, the Nets guard, and the team said they would each donate $500,000 to “causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate.”Nets guard Kyrie Irving and the team said Wednesday that they would each donate $500,000 to “causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities” after Irving posted a link on Twitter to an antisemitic documentary last week.The donations were announced in a joint statement from the Nets, Irving and the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization that fights antisemitism.“I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility,” Irving said in the statement. “I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles.”Irving added that he “meant no harm to any one group, race or religion of people, and wish to only be a beacon of truth and light.”Irving initially defended the post during a contentious postgame news conference Saturday, but he removed the post Sunday.The Nets declined to comment when asked if Irving would face any discipline from the team. The N.B.A. did not respond when asked if Irving would face discipline from the league.Shortly after Irving posted the link to the documentary to Twitter, the N.B.A. and its players’ union released separate statements that condemned antisemitism but did not name Irving, who is a vice president in the union.The union said it was “committed to helping players fully understand that certain words can lead to hateful ideologies being spread.” The N.B.A.’s statement said that the league would work on “identifying and combating” hate speech.Only the Nets owner Joe Tsai identified Irving by name in a statement he posted Friday on Twitter.“I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of antisemitic disinformation,” Tsai said. “I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion.”On Saturday, Irving defended posting the link to the movie, saying “history is not supposed to be hidden from anybody.”He said he found the documentary by searching on the Amazon website for the word “yahweh,” the Hebrew word for God.“Did I do anything illegal?” Irving said. “Did I hurt anybody? Did I harm anybody? Am I going out and saying that I hate one specific group of people?”He added later: “I’m not going to stand down on anything I believe in. I’m only going to get stronger. Because I’m not alone. I have a whole army around me.”The Nets did not make him available to reporters after home games on Monday and Tuesday, in violation of league rules. Nets General Manager Sean Marks said on Tuesday that Irving was not speaking to reporters because the team did not “want to cause more fuss right now, more interaction with people.” He also acknowledged that Irving’s news conference on Saturday did not go well.Marks said Tuesday that Irving had not been disciplined by the team because the Nets were having conversations with the Anti-Defamation League.“There’s an education piece for everybody here,” Marks said. “There’s an empathetic piece to this and understanding that we need to move on and we need to do the right thing without a doubt.”Marks was asked Tuesday night how he would respond to Nets fans who did not want to root for the team anymore.“Look, it’s understandable,” Marks said. “I’m completely empathetic to what’s going on here. I’m certainly not proud of the situation we find ourselves in.”The Nets lost to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, dropping them to a record of 2-6. The game was broadcast on TNT. Three former players who are part of TNT’s broadcast team sharply criticized Irving for his post and the league and its players for their responses. Shaquille O’Neal called Irving an “idiot,” Charles Barkley said the league should have suspended him and Reggie Miller criticized other players for not speaking out against Irving’s post. More

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    The Nets Dumped Steve Nash. Should It Have Been Kyrie Irving?

    The star-loaded Nets have an awful record and parted ways with Coach Steve Nash. But a bigger problem with Kyrie Irving and his antisemitic social media post remains.Be careful what you wish for. That adage comes to mind when I think of Kyrie Irving and his misguided, misinformed and downright dangerous support of antisemitism.Nets General Manager Sean Marks, in announcing the firing of Coach Steve Nash at a news conference on Tuesday, tried to say Irving’s sorry-not-sorry stance over the antisemitic and conspiratorial posts he made on social media had nothing to do with the team’s decision to part ways with Nash.He said no players were consulted, and he urged reporters not to link the coaching change and Irving’s posts.But it’s hard not to separate Irving from the disaster the Nets have become, even though they were hyped before the season as a possible title contender behind the force of Irving and Kevin Durant.Irving’s offensive posts, while no longer online, are clearly overshadowing the Nets, and the league. Some courtside fans wore T-shirts reading “Fight Antisemitism” at a home game Monday against the Indiana Pacers, and Marks said that the team has been asking for advice from the Anti-Defamation League. He would not say if Irving has been part of those conversations.He really should be, and the N.B.A., sputtering from crisis to crisis this season, should be ashamed one of its franchises has to resort to such a dialogue.This episode shows that the athlete empowerment I’ve championed has a flip side: Irving needs to consider the power of his words and his role in spreading dangerous messages to millions.Irving, the Nets point guard, is a basketball star with a megaphone. Nike sponsors him and produces his signature shoe. He is a vice president of the N.B.A. players’ union. He is not only a regular in the nationally televised sports firmament, he has 22 million followers on Twitter and Instagram.He can use his platform for good, which he has done as one of the many famed Black athletes who stood against injustice during the tumult of 2020 following the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd.But he can also do as he is now — use his status to inject poison into our world.Irving recently shared to his sizable social media following a link to a film that is a case study in antisemitic tropes and the disgusting narratives that have dogged and harmed Jews for generations. I will not give the movie any more credence or legitimacy by naming it. But let’s put it this way: Any narrative that claims Jews controlled the slave trade and worship the devil deserves the firmest of condemnations.And in case you missed it, this is not the first time Irving has gone down the rabbit hole. Just a few weeks ago, he was sharing an old video of Alex Jones railing against the so-called New World Order.Alex Jones. The alt-right talk show fraud recently ordered by a jury to pay nearly $1 billion to the families he defamed after their children died in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.Has Irving expressed any remorse or doubt for any of his posts? No, none. Instead, he doubled down, sticking to what has now become the script for public cowards, casting himself as a victim of reporters and anyone else who dares to ask about his support of hatred. “Why are you dehumanizing me?” he said after Saturday’s game, claiming he did nothing wrong and denying any responsibility.Irving has shown himself as a poor and unacceptable leader for the Nets. Yet if Nash goes because he’s proved to be a mediocre coach, why should the team tolerate someone like Irving?It was easy to shrug off Irving as eccentric when he claimed with a straight face that the Earth is flat.He’s clearly a man easily duped into following conspiratorial thinking and who fails to vet or think critically about the information he consumes.Then came more warning signs he would not shirk from peddling dangerous ideas. He held tight to his anti-vaccination beliefs during the coronavirus pandemic and refused to follow science during a public health crisis that has killed over one million Americans and decimated Black and Brown communities that Irving claims to care for deeply.It’s time for the N.B.A. to consider the ramifications of having him in the league.Kyrie Irving has caused a backlash over his antisemitic and conspiratorial social media posts.Monique Jaques for The New York Times“Let’s acknowledge that Kyrie is a basketball player, not a scholar, a subject matter expert on these issues,” Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said when we spoke Tuesday. “On the other hand, he’s a role model, one of the most beloved players in the league, let alone in Brooklyn. And I say that because when he tweets, it says something, and it sends signals, and people listen to him.”All of this feeds into a grim reality for American Jews. Fueled by antisemitism from several quarters, acts of violence against Jews and Jewish institutions reached the highest level seen in the nearly 45 years the A.D.L. has been tracking such hate crimes, according to Greenblatt.The sad paradox is that Irving plays for a team based in Brooklyn, where “we have seen a surge of antisemitism in recent years,” Greenblatt said. “Jewish people are getting harassed, Jewish homes and synagogues are getting vandalized. People are getting assaulted. What Kyrie did, considering the team he plays on, that’s why I think it struck such a nerve for so many people.”With fame comes responsibility. Part of that is the responsibility to gain critical understanding before using the power of your voice. Irving and others did that in 2020, ushering in a new age of empowerment, and athletes felt encouraged to speak up against authority. But he failed miserably with his recent posts.Should we hold out hope that he can redeem himself?Remarkably, Greenblatt believes he can. If, that is, Irving “will take the time to engage kind of in a process of learning and healing, working to better understand.”“I think all of us would be well served by this.”Greenblatt is ready for the call. Is Irving? More

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    The Nets’ Problems Are Bigger Than Steve Nash

    The Nets dumped their coach, but the team has never lived up to expectations. And there’s no clear path forward now.For the past three seasons, success for the Nets had been rooted in hypotheticals.Ever since the All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant joined the team in the summer of 2019, the Nets had been supremely talented on paper, with hopes of multiple N.B.A. championships. On the court, though, they were never good enough to contend. Their specialty, it seemed, was not playoff wins but off-court theater.Two weeks into a new season, one that was supposed to be a fresh start, the Nets are once again mired in drama. Last week, Irving posted a link to an antisemitic documentary on his Twitter account, drawing a public rebuke from the team’s owner, Joe Tsai. On Tuesday, the Nets announced that their coach, Steve Nash, was out. Hours later, General Manager Sean Marks sat down behind a microphone and tried to quiet the gathering storms.Marks expressed regret about having to fire Nash, but said that now that it was done, he would “like to get back to basketball,” to “focus on the things that are important.” Asked why fans would continue to cheer for the Nets with the team’s constant dysfunction, Marks replied, “Look, it’s understandable” if they don’t. He said the Nets had a “window” for winning, one he hoped the next coach would maximize with the current roster. But that may take longer than he likes: An hour or so after he finished his news conference, the Nets took the court and lost again, falling to the Chicago Bulls, 108-99.Marks’s problem, the Nets’ problem, is there is no real proof that this team or that any of the other teams assembled during Irving and Durant’s tenure was built to win a championship. Since 2019, the deepest the Nets have advanced in the playoffs was the Eastern Conference semifinals two years ago. Durant carried the offensive load largely by himself in that series, with Irving and the now-departed James Harden mostly sidelined with injuries. If Durant had worn a smaller shoe — one that kept his toe behind the 3-point line on a critical shot — the Game 7 overtime loss that ended the Nets’ season that year might have been a win.But “what ifs” have always been the story of these Nets.Jacque Vaughn, with Kevin Durant, was installed as the Nets’ interim head coach on Tuesday.Jessie Alcheh/Associated PressAfter an off-season in which it seemed as if Durant and Irving would be traded (Durant by request), both returned to Brooklyn instead. The Nets trotted out a revamped roster that also included Ben Simmons and Joe Harris, who were returning from injuries, and the new addition Royce O’Neale, but they struggled out of the gate. The Nets opened the season 1-4 even before the backlash to Irving’s antisemitic post began to take attention away from basketball. Simmons has missed the last two games with injuries. And Tuesday’s defeat dropped them to 2-6; at the moment, only the Orlando Magic (1-7) are keeping them out of last place.And while Nash paid the price for those struggles, many of the Nets’ issues are things that would have been problems for any coach: not only Irving’s social media and Durant’s changing commitment, but also Simmons’s difficulty finding his rhythm on the court; a lack of depth in the frontcourt; and an inability to close out games.“It was a difficult task, first of all, for Steve,” Harris said after Tuesday night’s loss to the Chicago Bulls. “It was not an easy job for him, given especially how much turnover we had.”“There was a lot going on,” he added, “and it made for a difficult job.”While Durant said he was “shocked” to wake up from a nap and find out Nash had been fired, he did not seem surprised by the move. Durant said he had not been consulted about Nash’s firing but admitted that he “knew that everybody was being evaluated.”“That’s just how it is in the league,” Durant said. “I like working with Steve. I like working with the coaching staff, and it was a roller coaster the last few years. But you know, at the core of it, basketball is something that we all love to do. So regardless of who the coach is, regardless of the circumstances, still got to come to work.”On Tuesday night, the Nets took the floor against the Bulls, with the assistant coach Jacque Vaughn in Nash’s seat. Vaughn will serve as the interim coach until the Nets find a permanent leader; he said he did not know how long that would take.But the Vaughn-directed Nets looked like the same team they had been all season. Simmons sat out with an injury. They struggled on the defensive end, and particularly at the end, when they allowed Bulls guard Zach LaVine to outscore the Nets by himself (20 points to 19) in the final period. And while Durant looked dominant with 32 points, the Nets again appeared to be a team with an incorrect combination of players.But, at least hypothetically, the Nets say they still believe they can win a championship.General Manager Sean Marks said he wanted the team to be able to focus on basketball.Jessie Alcheh/Associated Press“We got everything you need and more,” said O’Neale, who noted — correctly but rather optimistically — that there were still 74 games left in the season.Durant said the Nets’ issues, in fact, were not unusual.“It’s the N.B.A.,” he said. “Everybody got volatility. Outside people might look at what we do as bigger than what it is, but we come to work every single day. I mean, guys ask for trades before coaches get fired. You know, we have disagreements in our locker room. That happens in the N.B.A. But at the end of the day, we all came to work. It just didn’t work out on the floor.”It’s hard to say when it will work out. Simmons has a knee injury. Irving might be suspended for promoting the antisemitic documentary (Marks said the team was having internal discussions). And after Durant asked to be traded over the summer, it’s not hard to imagine him asking for that again.“I just want a good coach,” Durant said Tuesday. “I’m sure Sean and the staff will do a good job trying to figure that out.” More

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    Brooklyn Nets Fire Coach Steve Nash

    The Nets have struggled to a 2-5 start, and their star guard Kyrie Irving is under fire for promoting an antisemitic documentary.The Nets fired Coach Steve Nash on Tuesday as the team struggled on the court and faced criticism for the off-court actions of the star guard Kyrie Irving.Nets General Manager Sean Marks said the situation was particularly difficult because of his long relationship with Nash, a former teammate whom he hired to coach the team in September 2020.“We both felt that this was time,” Marks said at a news conference before the Nets faced the Chicago Bulls at Barclays Center on Tuesday night. “It was certainly trending that way, and to be quite frank, the team was not doing what it was supposed to be doing. We’ve fallen from our goals.”At 2-5, the Nets are among the worst teams in the N.B.A., despite starting the season with all three of their best players: Irving, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons. Over the past week, the team has also been dealing with backlash after Irving promoted an antisemitic documentary on social media.Marks said he had not sought any input from the players on his decision to make a coaching change.“He has certainly not had an even playing field over two and a bit years here,” Marks said of Nash. “And for that, I certainly feel definitely some responsibility because this does not fall on him. I take a great deal of responsibility in creating the roster, hiring staff, bringing people in, whether that’s free agency or draft.”Nash, 48, was hired before the 2020-21 season, despite never having coached professionally at any level, even as an assistant. The Nets were criticized for hiring Nash, who is white, over experienced Black coaches. Jacque Vaughn, a Nets assistant coach, was chosen to be acting head coach Tuesday against the Bulls. Vaughn, who is Black, was passed over when the Nets hired Nash.Nash carried the pedigree of being one of the best point guards in N.B.A. history, having won two Most Valuable Player Awards during a celebrated career from 1996 to 2014. He initially surrounded himself with experienced coaches such as Vaughn and Mike D’Antoni, who had coached him as a player in Phoenix.Over a little more than two seasons, Nash led the Nets to a 94-67 record, a winning percentage of .584, but with only one playoff-series victory to show for it. Nash thanked the team Tuesday in a statement on Twitter.“It was an amazing experience with many challenges that I’m incredibly grateful for,” he said, adding: “I wish the Nets all the success in the world and the Nash’s will be rooting for our team as they turn this season around.”Nash faced problems from the start, including injuries (Durant; Simmons), trades (Simmons in; James Harden in, then out) and Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, which meant that he missed most of the 2021-22 season because of local rules.Irving returned in time for the postseason after New York City changed the rules, but the Boston Celtics swept the Nets in the first round of the playoffs, closing out the series in front of thousands of despondent fans in Brooklyn.“We had high expectations,” Durant said at the time. “Everybody had high expectations for us. But a lot of stuff happened throughout the season that derailed us.”Durant went to the team’s front office over the summer to request a trade. According to a report by The Athletic, Durant demanded that the Nets owner Joe Tsai choose between him or Marks and Nash. Tsai released a statement that said the team’s front-office staff and coaches had his support.Durant eventually relented and joined the team for training camp in late September. Hope blossomed anew: Durant, Irving and Simmons were expected to help form one of the more explosive starting lineups in the N.B.A.But the Nets sputtered, particularly on defense, losing five of their first six games this season. Marks said he came away from games this season feeling as though the players had not “bought in,” and he was now hoping to find “a leader” whose message would resonate with them. He said that he had not made a decision on the team’s next coach and would thoroughly vet any candidates.“We’re looking for somebody to have poise, charisma, accountability,” he said, adding: “We’re not playing up to our expectations of where we should be. So, you hope this new coach can come in here and put this group in the best possible place to succeed.”But Nash’s firing does not resolve the issue with Irving.At a testy news conference Saturday, Irving doubled down on his support of the antisemitic documentary. He has not apologized since then, but he deleted a tweet that linked to the documentary on Sunday.Irving did not address reporters after the Nets’ win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday, when several fans in T-shirts that said “fight antisemitism” sat in the front row. Marks said Irving would not be made available to answer questions Tuesday, adding that he wanted to let “cooler minds prevail.” He also said that the team had been in contact with the Anti-Defamation League for advice, but he would not say whether Irving had been part of those conversations.“Just trying to weigh out exactly what the best course of action is here,” Marks said. “Part of it is going to be getting the sides together so they can understand where people are coming from. There’s an education piece for everybody here.”Tania Ganguli More

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    Kyrie Irving Defends Antisemitic Movie and Conspiracy Theory

    Irving, the Nets guard, is facing backlash, but said he was “not going to stand down on anything I believe in.”Nets guard Kyrie Irving doubled down on his support of an antisemitic documentary and a “New World Order” conspiracy theory about secret societies during a testy news conference Saturday night, a day after his team’s owner chastised him for supporting the film.The conspiracy theory, pushed by the Infowars host Alex Jones, falsely suggests that people in the government are working to enslave the human population by, among other methods, releasing viruses.“History is not supposed to be hidden from anybody,” Irving said as he defended himself for posting a link on Twitter to the 2018 documentary “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which espouses several antisemitic tropes.“Did I do anything illegal?” Irving said. “Did I hurt anybody? Did I harm anybody? Am I going out and saying that I hate one specific group of people?”Irving posted about the documentary on Twitter and Instagram in the past week, and the Nets owner Joe Tsai rebuked him in a statement Friday, saying that he was “disappointed.”“I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion,” Tsai said in a post on Twitter.The Spread of Misinformation and FalsehoodsElection Fraud Claims: A new report says that major social media companies continue to fuel false conspiracies about election fraud despite promises to combat misinformation ahead of the midterm elections.Russian Falsehoods: Kremlin conspiracy theories blaming the West for disrupting the global food supply have bled into right-wing chat rooms and mainstream conservative news media in the United States.Media Literacy Efforts: As young people spend more time online, educators are increasingly trying to offer students tools and strategies to protect themselves from false narratives.Global Threat: New research shows that nearly three-quarters of respondents across 19 countries with advanced economies are very concerned about false information online.On Saturday afternoon, Irving said in a post on Twitter that he was an “omnist,” a person who supports all religions. “The ‘Anti-Semitic’ label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday,” he said.At the news conference Saturday, after the Nets lost to the Indiana Pacers, Irving argued with a reporter who said he had “promoted” the documentary and reiterated that he was not antisemitic.“I’m not a divisive person when it comes to religion,” Irving said. “I embrace all walks of life.”As he was pressed about the potential consequences of sharing an antisemitic documentary to his millions of followers on social media, Irving gave seemingly contradictory answers about his impact.“I’m in a unique position to have a level of influence on my community,” Irving said. “What I post does not mean that I support everything that’s being said.”He later said: “There’s things being posted every day. I am no different than the next human being, so don’t treat me any different.”Irving was also asked about his support of Jones, who was ordered this month to pay almost $1 billion in damages in a lawsuit about his false assertions that the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting that killed 26 people was a hoax. Irving said he did not back Jones’s claim that Sandy Hook was a hoax, but that Jones was right in a 2002 video about the New World Order theory that Irving shared on Instagram last month.“It’s true,” Irving said, adding, “It’s actually hilarious because out of all the things I posted that day, that was the one post that everyone chose to see.”In the video, Jones said: “The facts and common sense are in. Yes, there have been corrupt empires. Yes, they manipulate. Yes, there are secret societies. Yes, there have been oligarchies throughout history. And yes, today, in 2002, there is a tyrannical organization calling itself the ‘New World Order’ pushing for worldwide government.”There has been public backlash for Irving’s support of Jones and the documentary, but on Saturday he stood firm.“I’m not going to stand down on anything I believe in,” Irving said. “I’m only going to get stronger because I’m not alone. I have a whole army around me.”After Irving accused an ESPN reporter of trying to “dehumanize” him and denied that he was promoting the documentary by posting about it, the Nets abruptly ended the news conference.Irving, a seven-time All-Star, has become a lightning rod for criticism in recent years. He missed much of the 2021-22 season because he declined to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, and in 2018 he suggested that the Earth might be flat.Neither the Nets, the N.B.A. nor a representative for Tsai responded to requests for comment. More

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    Kyrie Irving Rebuked for Linking to Antisemitic Documentary

    Irving, the Nets guard, posted a link on Twitter to a documentary that promotes antisemitic tropes. Joe Tsai, the Nets owner, said he was “disappointed.”The Nets owner Joe Tsai spoke out against his team’s star guard Kyrie Irving on Friday after Irving tweeted a link to a documentary that promotes antisemitic tropes.“I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-semitic disinformation,” Tsai wrote in a Twitter post late Friday. “I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion.“This is bigger than basketball.”Tsai posted on Twitter just before 11:30 p.m. Friday. A representative for Irving did not immediately respond to a text message.The documentary, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” was written and directed by Ronald Dalton Jr. and released in 2018. Dalton also released a book with the same title. On Thursday, Irving tweeted a link to a site where users can rent or buy the documentary. He also shared a screenshot of the site on Instagram. In response, Rolling Stone magazine reported on the antisemitic messaging of the documentary and the book.Irving, 30, is a seven-time All-Star in his fourth season with the Nets, but his off-court actions have often overshadowed his basketball career.He did not play in most of the Nets’ games last season in part because he refused to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, which New York City required for him to compete in home games. The Nets initially barred him from road games as well but relented about two months into the season as the team struggled.In September, Irving was widely criticized for sharing a conspiracy-theory video by the Infowars host Alex Jones, who for years falsely said the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting that killed 26 children and adults was a hoax.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the N.B.A. Hall of Famer, chastised Irving for sharing Jones’s video, writing on Substack that “Kyrie Irving would be dismissed as a comical buffoon if it weren’t for his influence over young people who look up to athletes.”In 2018, Irving was mocked for falsely suggesting that the Earth might be flat.“Can you openly admit that you know the Earth is constitutionally round?” he said in an interview with The New York Times. “Like, you know that for sure? Like, I don’t know.”Irving joined the Nets as a free agent in 2019 after playing for the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, with whom he won a championship in 2016 alongside LeBron James. The Nets have made the playoffs in each of Irving’s seasons with the team, but they are struggling this year. Five games into the season, they have won just once. Their next game is Saturday at home against the Indiana Pacers.Tania Ganguli More

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    The Young Pistons Are Trying to Bring Back That ‘Bad Boys’ Feeling

    The rebuild in Detroit could finally turn the corner this year behind Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.WASHINGTON — It was early in the fourth quarter, and the Detroit Pistons were attempting to come back from a double-digit deficit against the Wizards. Kevin Knox, a 23-year-old forward, committed an unnecessary defensive foul. Pistons Coach Dwane Casey’s head snapped downward ever so slightly, as if he were trying to suppress his frustration.On the next play, Knox committed another foul — this time against the star guard Bradley Beal on a step-back jumper. Beal hit the shot and the free throw. Now, Casey, in his 14th year as a head coach, was expressionless.This has been the job for him with the Pistons — being tolerant of mistakes. As much as he can let himself be. Growing pains, he calls them.“They’re going to make mistakes,” Casey said after the game Tuesday. “When you were a young writer, you probably made some mistakes in your writing. And it’s the same thing. Guys are going to make young mistakes.”The next night, the Pistons played the Atlanta Hawks much closer, but a series of mistakes down the stretch meant another loss, part of a 1-4 start to the season. Still, the kids are all right. Not good, mind you — not yet. But the Pistons are not expected to be terrible either, a shift from the last decade or so of Detroit basketball.The current roster — among the youngest in the N.B.A. — is filled with potential stars who are giving the fan base hope during a multiyear rebuild now purportedly entering its next phase. Leading the charge are Cade Cunningham, the first pick of the 2021 draft, and Jaden Ivey, the fifth pick of this year’s draft. If all goes well, Cunningham and Ivey could be the next great N.B.A. backcourt. However, that requires everything to go right — and most N.B.A. rebuilds do not.But first, don’t call it a rebuild. The Pistons brass has taken to calling the process a restoration.“Detroit’s been great,” Pistons General Manager Troy Weaver said. “My dad used to restore older cars, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”Weaver said there had been “two great iterations” of Pistons: Isiah Thomas’s Bad Boys in the late 1980s, who won two championships, and the early 2000s team with Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace, who won in 2004. Both versions were defined by a hard-nosed, not-always-pretty style of play.“We want to model that,” Weaver said. “A lot of people want to come in and reinvent the wheel. We want to stay true to what works in Detroit.”Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups and teammates celebrated winning the 2004 N.B.A. championship.Paul Sancya/Associated PressAs that process continues, the team is also dealing with internal turmoil: Rob Murphy, the Pistons’ assistant general manager and the president and general manager of the franchise’s G League team, is on leave and under investigation for possible workplace misconduct, according to a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak about the investigation. Murphy joined the franchise in March 2021, about a year after Weaver came to Detroit.When Weaver was named general manager in June 2020, he took over a franchise that had been to the playoffs only twice since 2009 and hadn’t won a playoff series since 2008. For more than a decade, the team had been directionless, led by ill-fitting sort-of stars like Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. Weaver rapidly cleared out veterans with long-term contracts, such as the former All-Star forward Blake Griffin, and began to rebuild, er, restore. There are no players left from the team Weaver took over, a head-spinning roster turnover.“I didn’t expect it to be a whole new team,” Weaver said. “I thought it’d be a gradual process.”Cade Cunningham was the first pick of the 2021 draft.Rick Osentoski/Getty ImagesRebuilding in the N.B.A. usually comes in three phases. 1. Clear out dead-weight contracts. (Check!) 2. Accumulate high draft picks and use them on talented young players — which means losing a lot of games. (Check!) 3. Find success by trading developing players for stars (2008 Boston Celtics) or by watching those players become stars (the current Golden State dynasty).Point No. 3 is always the hardest, and many teams have failed. The Pistons have assembled a talented core, centered on Cunningham — fortuitous draft luck — and Ivey. Cunningham, a 21-year-old in his second year, has shown flashes of stardom. After a slow start during his rookie year, he averaged 21.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game on 45.7 percent shooting over his final 20 games. He’s skilled at getting into the paint but has struggled with his jump shot. Cunningham seems to have embraced his role as franchise cornerstone, frequently being the first one off the bench to encourage teammates.“I feel like if I win games and I continue to help grow the organization, that will take us to another level and take my game and my social life in Detroit to another level,” Cunningham said.The 20-year-old Ivey has been an impactful player in the starting lineup already, averaging 16.0 points and 5.5 assists per game on 48 percent shooting in four games. He’s a creative finisher in the paint and is showing surprising 3-point shooting prowess (42.9 percent), despite not being a particularly strong shooter in his two seasons at Purdue University.Jaden Ivey has been an impactful player, averaging 16 points and 5.5 assists per game in four games.Carlos Osorio/Associated PressOther young players have shown potential, too. Forward Saddiq Bey, 23, dropped 51 points in a game last year. Center Jalen Duren, drafted eight picks after Ivey, has started his career on a strong note as well — averaging 8.2 points and 8.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in only 21.4 minutes a game. He is the youngest active player in the N.B.A.Wins have, however, been hard to come by. Isaiah Stewart, a talented but raw 21-year-old center, is prone to lapses on defense. Against the Wizards on Tuesday, Stewart repeatedly left Kristaps Porzingis, a strong shooting big man, wide open from the perimeter, which Porzingis exploited. The next night, Atlanta’s Trae Young kept maneuvering into the paint for his patented floater, while Stewart repeatedly sagged off instead of aggressively contesting. Young finished with an easy-looking 35 points.Other young players are showing potential, too, including the 23-year-old forward Saddiq Bey.Doug Mcschooler/Associated PressLast season, Detroit finished with one of the worst records in the N.B.A. at 23-59. This year, if restoration continues according to plan, the Pistons should be significantly better.“We want to be competitive,” Weaver said. “Finally feel like we’re at ground zero. Now, we’re going to be competitive every night. We finally have enough depth to be able to do that.”But this is where rebuilding plans can go awry. Developing a young core requires patience, but the N.B.A. is a business: Detroit ranked near the bottom of the league in attendance last year, according to ESPN, and has already done a lot of losing this century.“The league is not going to wait for you just because you’re a young team,” said Cory Joseph, 31, one of the older players on the team.Coaches and general managers can feel pressure to win games — a natural byproduct of being in the world of competitive sports — but Weaver insisted that the organization was willing to be patient, regardless of the standings. There is a plan.“Every morning, you want to drink a cup of urgency, and at night you want to drink a cup of patience,” Weaver said, adding: “You’ve got to let it organically happen. And I think a lot of teams, they shortcut the process. They get impatient with process. We won’t do that.” More