During the game between Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks, Rabbi Avremi Zippel and his companions displayed banners that read “I’m a Jew and I’m Proud.” They intended to express their pride in being Jewish and to address Kyrie Irving’s past promotion of an antisemitic film on social media.

When Irving, the enigmatic point guard, noticed the banners, he made a remark about also being Jewish and pointed to his tattoo of the Star of David. However, during a subsequent timeout, security approached Rabbi Zippel’s group and requested them to put away the banners, citing Irving’s alleged complaint.

The Utah Jazz stated that the standard security protocol was invoked following the interaction between Irving and the fans, emphasizing that the removal of the banners was based on the disruptive nature of the interaction, not the content of the banners.

Rabbi Zippel expressed disappointment with the decision and questioned why the presence of a banner declaring pride in being Jewish had triggered Irving to the extent of sparking an interaction. He highlighted that among 18,000 people in the arena, it was perplexing that one person’s response led to the banners being taken down.

The Dallas Mavericks did not provide a comment regarding the incident. Kyrie Irving had previously faced suspension from the NBA for promoting anti-Semitic content on social media.