A Utah rabbi is embroiled in a tiff with Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving over whether the guard levied a complaint against him and three others who were holding “I’m a Jew and I’m proud” signs.
Irving’s representative denied the assertion from Rabbi Avremi Zippel that he was the one who made the complaint at the Delta Center while the Mavericks were playing the Utah Jazz.
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Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, #11, drives to the basket against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Jan. 3, 2024. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
In an interview with OutKick, Zippel rehashed his account.
“In the middle of the second quarter, I and another member of my party were walking through the courtside tunnel closest to our seats,” Zippel said. “In the tunnel we were engaged in conversation regarding the incident with executives of the Jazz organization, one of whom verified for us that the request for the signs to be taken down originated on the Dallas bench.
“He went so far as to mention by name the head of the Jazz’s team security, unrelated to arena security, who was made aware of the request from his Dallas counterpart, and subsequently relayed the request to arena security.
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, #11, dribbles the ball against the Utah Jazz during the first half at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Jan. 1, 2024. (Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports)
“I’d further point you to the dozen (at least) patrons who heard the interaction between Kyrie and myself, including ‘don’t gotta bring a sign like that to a game’ as well the asinine assertion that he too is Jewish because of the Star of David tattoo on his hand.
“He also shared that Kyrie told him the sign was unnecessary and professed to also be a Jew after pointing to a Star of David tattoo.”
Irving’s rep denied the allegation that the guard lodged the complaint. The rep also told OutKick that Irving never encountered the rabbi.
The Jazz released a statement on the issue on Tuesday.
“The Utah Jazz Code of Conduct is in place so that games can be played without distraction and disruption. No matter where someone is in the arena, if a sign becomes distracting or sparks and interaction with a player, we will ask them to remove it,” the team said.
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, #11, defends Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen, #23, during the first half at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Jan. 1, 2024. (Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports)
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“During an out-of-bounds player in the first quarter of yesterday’s Jazz game against the Dallas Mavericks, there was a group sitting courtside whose signs sparked an interaction with a player that created a distraction and interfered with a play of game. As the next step in standard security protocol, the fans were asked to take down their signs. The part-time employee who told the fans it was the content of the sign that was the problem was incorrect.
“The issue was the disruptive interaction caused by usage of the signs, not the content of the signs.”
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