Irving will miss his eighth straight game Thursday night in Portland, but is nearing the end of his nearly two-week suspension, sources said. “Kyrie continues his journey of dialogue and education,” National Basketball Players Association executive director Tamika Tremaglio told ESPN on Wednesday night. “He deals with the full weight of the impact of his voice and actions, particularly in the Jewish community. Kyrie rejects anti-Semitism in any form and is dedicated to improving himself and raising his level of understanding. He intends to continue this journey well into the future to ensure that his words and actions are aligned with the pursuit of truth and knowledge.” 2 Related Tremaglio and the union worked closely with Irving, the Nets and the NBA to help him draft his own remedies to end the suspension, sources said. What could have started as a rigid list of prerequisites evolved into Irving himself taking over the process, which the Nets and the league had hoped would happen, sources said. Irving is serving at least a five-game suspension without pay for failing to initially apologize and condemn his social media connection to a film filled with anti-Semitic material. Irving’s apology — posted on his Instagram account hours after his suspension was announced on Nov. 4 — came after two press conferences and a public statement issued with the Nets that did not include an apology or condemnation. Irving met with Nets owner Joe Tsai and Commissioner Adam Silver, and both said publicly that they did not believe Irving was anti-Semitic. At the time of Irving’s suspension, the Nets issued a statement saying “his failure to repudiate anti-Semitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply troubling, goes against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team.” . In a memo to NBPA members on Friday, the union told NBA players that “the rights of Kyrie and all future players are protected every step of the way” and added that the union “see[s] to promote very soon a resolution of all matters satisfactory to all parties.” The NBPA described the recent meetings as “an effort to deepen understanding and open clear lines of communication between all parties.” The Nets are 4-3 without Irving during his suspension, including a 153-121 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. Brooklyn is 6-9 overall, 5.5 games back of first place Boston in the Eastern Conference standings. Irving, 30, is averaging 26.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Nets this season.
