Kyrie Irving has responded to claims he had Jazz arena security make rabbis remove their pro-Jewish signs during Monday’s Jazz-Dallas game at Delta Center.
Long-standing Utah Jazz fan Rabbi Avremi Zippel and three other rabbis were at the game sporting signs that read ‘Im a Jew and I’m proud’.
We may have brought four Rabbis to sit courtside tonight… pic.twitter.com/mRzPPUoOZf
— Avremi Zippel (@UtahRabbi) January 2, 2024
In a series of posts on X, Zippel claims that Irving saw the signs early in the first quarter and told him, “No need to bring that to a game.”
Zippel said that Irving then spoke to Mavs security members and then Jazz officials checked the rabbis’ tickets and told them to put the signs away.
In Irving’s P.R. firm’s statements to OutKick, Irving’s rep said he didn’t speak with Zippel at all.
“[Kyrie Irving] denies making a complaint. There was not a negative interaction as Rabbi Zippel is trying to manufacture,” the rep tells OutKick.
The Jazz went out with a statement regarding the incident and said that the signs were in breach of the team’s audience code of conduct.
“During an out-of-bounds play in the first quarter of yesterday’s Jazz game against the Dallas Mavericks, there was a group sitting courtside whose signs sparked an interaction with a player that created a distraction and interfered with the play of game,” the statement said.
The reps also noted that no Mavs personnel spoke with Jazz staff members.
Zippel is adamant that an interaction took place though and told OutKick,” I’d further point you to the dozen (at least) patrons who heard the interaction between Kyrie and myself, including “don’t gotta bring a sign like that to a game” as well the asinine assertion that he too is Jewish because of the Star of David tattoo on his hand.
“He also shared that Kyrie told him the sign was unnecessary, and professed to also be a Jew after pointing to a Star of David tattoo.”
More to come.
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