Barnes & Noble Pulls Antisemitic Book Shared By Kyrie Irving

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Customers Shop At Barnes And Noble In Rockefeller Center
NEW YORK - MAY 1: Customers shop at Barnes and Noble in Rockefeller Center May 1, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
Barnes & Noble has pulled the antisemitic book that Kyrie Irving recently shared on social media.

Barnes & Noble has pulled the controversial, Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, from its store. The antisemitic piece was infamously shared by Kyrie Irving on social media, last month.

The Nets suspended Irving for his failure to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs." He has since shared an apology but has yet to return to the court.

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 10: People walk by a Barnes & Noble bookstore, January 10, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. On Thursday, Barnes & Noble Inc. cautioned investors that it could reduce its earnings guidance by up to 10 percent due to advertising spending and promotional activity. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In response to the decision by Barnes & Noble, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, advised Amazon to follow suit.

"Let’s be crystal clear here: by platforming this film, and other clearly hateful content, you are knowingly and willingly propagating antisemitism," he wrote in an open letter. "Not to mention, when one types in 'Hebrews' into the Amazon search bar, practically every single result is some iteration of the antisemitic book/film mentioned above."

Greenblatt continued: "We understand the free speech and slippery-slope arguments that you face in managing a retail service like Amazon. Nonetheless you are making a decision when you choose to keep this content on your service. It’s a different decision than the one reached by Barnes & Noble."

As for Irving, he hasn't seen the court since November 1. It's unclear when he will return to playing with the Nets.

Team owner Joe Tsai recently remarked that Irving "has to show people that he's sorry."

"What's important - and what people miss - is he only apologized after he was suspended," he added to the New York Post.

[Via]

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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