How Kyrie Irving’s pro-Palestine view could be a problem for Mavs’ new Israeli owner Miriam Adelson

With the NBA Finals shifting to Dallas, the Mavericks will have the backing of their fans, and given that they’re currently trailing the Celtics 2-0, they’re going to need it. Whether it’s Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving, the team will need its stars to perform, but the latter may have some extra pressure to deal with.

Miriam Adelson has taken over the Dallas Mavericks

If you didn’t know, last December the NBA’s owners unanimously approved the sale of the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson, the billionaire widow of the late GOP megadonor and casino mogul, Sheldon Adelson. With a reported price of $3.5 billion Adelson was joined in the venture by her daughter her daughter Sivan Dumont and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont. It is understood that the Adelson family acquired 73% of the organization, leaving now former majority owner Mark Cuban with a 27% stake. To be clear, the 78-year-old Adelson has an estimated net worth of $29 billion, meaning the purchase of the Mavs didn’t hurt at all.

Now, if Adelson’s name rings a bell, it’s likely because you’ve seen her in the news recently. Indeed, the GOP backer is reportedly set to be Donald Trump’s biggest donor in the coming election and is said to be a fanatical supporter of Israel. So much so in fact, that she recently gave some direct comments about the current political situation in an Israeli newspaper that she owns, calling pro-Palestine rallies “ghastly gatherings of radical Muslim and BLM activists, ultra-progressives, and career agitators.” Adelson continued, declaring that the government should “Deny them employment and public office, and defund their colleges and political parties. These people are not our critics. They are our enemies.”

What does this have to do with Kyrie Irving?

For the moment, nothing. As much as the sale of the Mavericks is big news, it’s largely been overshadowed by the fact that the Mavericks have been sensational this season and that’s why they’re currently in the NBA Finals. The muted coverage is also in part due to former majority owner, Mark Cuban, who has more or less positioned himself as the person who is still in charge. Yet, as much as that may be the case, there is one thing that can’t be ignored and that’s Kyrie Irving and the comments that he’s made in the past about Jewish people.

Yes, Irving indeed has a history of puzzling takes - you can see them here - on a variety of topics such as his refusal to receive the covid-19 vaccine, and even passively endorsing the notion that the earth is flat - yes he did. Yet, his most controversial moment undoubtedly came when he posted a link to a documentary that promoted bizarre ideas about the Jewish community as well as antisemitic conspiracy theories that suggested the Holocaust never happened. Irving did of course face immense backlash, to the extent that he lost his sneaker deal with Nike and was largely blacklisted. It was out of that moment that he joined the Mavericks and has since seemingly re-established himself as what we all know him to be: One of the most gifted point guards to ever play in the NBA.

So, what happens now? Will there be some kind of reckoning to come for Irving? Consider for a moment that as recently as February, Irving reposted a photo of a sign at a pro-Palestine march that read “If Protesting for Peoples’ FREEDOM Bothers You...Then You Are the Oppresor.” There was also last November when he reposted a critique of the Biden administration’s continued support for Israel: “The new dumbest thing we’re being asked to believe about this war is that Washington is powerless to stop the genocidal massacre that it is directly funding and supplying the weapons for.” It was a take that was followed by him wearing a kaffiyeh during a postgame press conference just a few weeks later. It didn’t stop there either, but suffice to say, Irving has made it clear he is not a fan of Israel’s ongoing conflict with Palestine, which again begs the question: What now?

At the moment the Mavericks are 2-0 down in the NBA Finals and in need of a win if they’re to avoid going down 3-0, a deficit no team in the NBA has ever overturned. To that extent, it goes without saying that nobody is focused on Irving’s potential faceoff with the new owner of the team he plays for. What’s more is that as much as Irving’s position on some things has been colorful, he’s also done a number of extremely admirable things including buying George Floyd’s family a home, assisting in the production of a documentary about Breonna Taylor, and of course donating millions to combat food security and police violence. This is all to say, in tandem with his contribution on the court, Irving is a player and person that people like. With that said, both Adelson and Irving are strong in their respective stances, so don’t be surprised if this is something we return to in the near future.