Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving was back on the basketball court Sunday following his suspension over accusations of antisemitism.
The Nets suspended Irving for five games without pay on Nov. 3 after the guard shared a link to a movie on social media containing antisemitic material.
He was suspended after he denied apologizing or clarifying his religious beliefs during a follow-up interview with reporters days after tweeting out the link, the Associated Press reported.
The team said they suspended Irving, who missed a total of eight games, after he repeatedly failed to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs," the news outlet reported.
According to the news outlet, Irving was back on the court with the Nets Sunday as they defeated the Memphis Grizzlies.
On Sunday, he thanked family and friends on Twitter for their support.
"To all of you that are standing next to me on this Journey, I want to say thank you, I love you, and I honor your fearlessness and bravery. You motivate me more than you know," the NBA player tweeted. "Now, Let’s build and celebrate one another."
He added that this was "a big moment" for him, that his words mean something, and he has to be careful how influential they can be to others.
"I meant no harm to any person, to any group of people, and yeah, this is a big moment for me because I’m able to learn throughout this process that the power of my voice is very strong, the influence that I have within my community is very strong, and I want to be responsible for that,” he said per The Associated Press. “In order to do that, you have to admit when you’re wrong and in instances where you hurt people and it impacts them.”
