Former NBA stars Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal and Charles Barkley on Tuesday ripped Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving, who last week shared a tweet promoting a movie widely viewed as antisemitic, branding him an “idiot”.
Speaking on TNT’s “Inside the NBA”, the two former players also criticized the NBA’s handling of the situation and said they believed Irving should have been reprimanded and even suspended.
“I think the NBA dropped the ball. I think he should have been suspended. I think [NBA commissioner] Adam [Silver] should have suspended him. You can’t take my $40 million and insult my religion. The NBA, they made a mistake,” Barkley said, pointing out recent examples in which the NBA suspended players for using homophobic slurs.
“We have suspended and fined people who have made homophobic slurs. I think if you insult the Black community you should be suspended or fined,” said Barkley, before adding, “I can’t believe we’re talking about this idiot.”
O’Neal said he knew he had to be “very responsible” with what he shared on social media, and added it is obvious that Irving does not care.
“When you’re as great at basketball as he is, people listen to you… It hurts me that we have to sit up here and talk about stuff that divides us,” O’Neal said. “We have to sit up here and answer for what this idiot has done. I stand for equality of all people.”
