Shams: Adam Silver, Kyrie Irving have ‘productive, understanding’ visit

Adam Silver and Kyrie Irving had a “productive” and “understanding” meeting Tuesday, “paving the way” for Irving to fill the six requirements that Nets have set out for his return to play, according to Shams Charania.

Shams. who is known to be close to Irving, tweeted the news...

An hour later, Shams reported that other issues remain beyond the suspension and conditions he must meet...

However, by late Tuesday night, no other journalist or outlet had confirmed Shams characterization of the meeting.

From what Shams tweeted, it appears that the league will not further sanction Irving who has missed the last three games following a suspension by the Nets. That suspension is for at least five games, through Saturday’s game vs. the Clippers, but its length is to be determined by Irving’s willingness to meet certain requirements.

At issue, of course, has been Irving’s decision on October 26 to publicize an antisemitic video on Twitter and Instagram. Things then went from bad to worse on October 30 when Irving appeared to double down on his claims during a media availability that saw him battle with beat reporters. Although Irving later apologized and agreed to work with the Anti-Discrimination League to combat hate, Silver felt his admission of responsibility was insufficient and asked for the meeting with Irving. Finally, the Nets suspended him on November 5.

A return to play is dependent on Irving meeting the requirements: an apology and condemnation of the antisemitic video he promoted, antisemitism and sensitivity training, a $500,000 donation to help combat hate speech, meeting with the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish leaders as well as with Tsai.

Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports laid out more details in a story the day of the suspension:

For Irving to return, he must meet with the media and issue a verbal apology that clearly states he’s sorry for sharing the film and understands the film is harmful and untrue.

He must also share the apology on his social media accounts. Irving initially issued an apology on Instagram hours after his suspension.

Moreover, the final condition involves not just a meeting with Tsai but with “lead franchise officials” where he will also need to “demonstrate the lessons learned and that the gravity of the harm caused in the situation is understood, and provide assurances that this type of behavior will not be repeated,” per an earlier report from Shams.

Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown, who like Irving is a vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, says that the union has issues with the requirements outlined for Kyrie Irving’s reinstatement. The union can appeal the Nets suspension but as of Tuesday, there’s no such appeal.

In related news, Amazon and Jeff Bezos are facing continuing criticism for permitting the video, From Hebrews to Negroes, to remain online.

• Kyrie Irving meeting with Adam Silver paves way for ‘potential path forward’ - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• AP source: Suspended Kyrie Irving meets with Adam Silver - Brian Mahoney - AP
• Nets’ Kyrie Irving meets with Adam Silver amid path to return from suspension: Sources - Shams Charania - The Athletic
• Nets star Kyrie Irving’s meeting with Adam Silver reportedly ‘productive’ - Barbara Barker - Newsday
• Amazon’s silence on Kyrie Irving-publicized movie is pathetic - Andrew Marchand - New York Post
• Amazon is still selling anti-Semitic film promoted by Kyrie Irving - Ariel Zilber - New York Post