As a Jewish forward for the Washington Wizards, Danny Audia was naturally going to be asked about Kyrie Irving.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Jewish forward for the Washington Wizards, Danny Audia was naturally going to ask about Kyrie Irving.
Especially when his team just finished a game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Audia said Friday night that he tries to stay positive in the face of anti-Semitism, but he also believes there should be consequences for the players’ actions. The 21-year-old Israeli played for a few minutes in the Washington locker room after the Wizards lost to the Irving-les Nets.
Brooklyn Irving paused on Thursday for posting a since-deleted link to an anti-Semitic piece. Precipitation from his post continued Friday with Nike announcement the company ended its relationship with Irving.
“I think people look up to him,” Audia said. “You can think whatever you want, you can do whatever you want. It’s just that I don’t think it’s right to go public and put it out there for the little kids who watch you to see it and for generations to come to think that, because it’s not true and I don’t think it’s that fair.’
Audio is in its third NBA season. He is the only player in the league who was born in Israel.
“I’m Jewish and I love my culture, I love my country,” he said. “It’s a bit unpleasant to hear some things about your religion. Just spread the love, man. Love everyone, love all cultures.”
Audia talked about the support he receives from the Jewish community and Israelis around the world. He was asked how often he had to deal with anti-Semitism.
“In terms of things like that, it always will be. It will never go away,” he said. “It’s just when you want to pay attention to things or you just want to keep moving and focus on the important things in life. I am a positive guy. I’m not looking for bad.’
Audia supported Irving’s execution.
“I think there should be consequences for the players’ actions,” he said. “I don’t know the amount, the punishment that the league is giving, but I think you need to know that there is no place for those kinds of words.”
Kyle Kuzma, Audia’s teammate, caused a bit of a stir when he tweeted Friday, “I can’t even tell the truth anymore.” He said it was a personal matter, not Irving’s situation.
Kuzma also said that he received death threats after the tweet.
“It’s probably boots at this point. I don’t know who is behind the microphone, who is behind the tweets,” said Kuzma. “But there were few of them. But it all stems from wrong place, wrong time, wrong interpretations, so I get it. It’s not the end of the world.”
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