Jaylen Brown says that he was unaware of which specific group was outside Barclays Center when he tweeted support for the crowd. The Celtics star clarified his controversial tweet on Sunday night.
The group outside Barclays Center were Black Hebrew Israelites who gathered to show support for Kyrie Irving, according to CBS. The point guard returned to the Nets lineup for their home game against the Grizzlies.
"Energy," Brown tweeted in response to a video of the fans.
Following backlash, he clarified: "I was not aware of what specific group that was outside of Barclay’s Center tonight. I was celebrating the unification of our people welcoming the return of Kyrie to the court, first glance I thought it was a known fraternity the (C/Que’s) Omega psi phi (step’n) showing support."
Brown has been vocal in his support of Irving through his recent suspension. The Nets have kept him off the court since he tweeted a link to a documentary containing antisemitic messages. In total, he missed eight games.
Prior to his return to the court, Irving apologized to those offended by his actions.
“I don’t stand for anything close to hate speech, or antisemitism, or anything that is anti going against the human race,” Irving said. “I feel like we all should have an opportunity to speak for ourselves when things are assumed about us. And I feel it was necessary for me to stand in this place and take accountability for my actions because there was a way I should have handled all of this.”
Check out Jaylen Brown's tweets below.
[Via]