A Utah rabbi is embroiled in a fight with Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving over whether the guard filed a complaint against him and three other people holding signs that read “I’m Jewish and I’m proud.”
Irving’s representative denied Rabbi Avremi Zippel’s claim 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 January 3, 2024. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
In an interview with OutKick, Zippel repeated his story.
“Midway through the second quarter, another member of my group and I were walking through the court tunnel closest to our seats,” Zippel said. “In the tunnel we were discussing the incident with executives from the Jazz organization, one of whom confirmed that the request to remove the signs originated from the Dallas bench.
“He went so far as to mention by name the Jazz’s head of team security, unrelated to arena security, who was informed of the request by 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 January 1, 2024. (Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports)
“I’d also like to point out the dozen (at least) customers who overheard the interaction between Kyrie and me, including ‘you don’t have to bring a sign like that to a game,’ as well as the stupid claim that he’s also Jewish because of Star of David tattoo on his hand.
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“He also shared that Kyrie told him the sign was unnecessary and professed to be Jewish after pointing out a Star of David tattoo.”
Irving’s representative denied the allegation that the guard filed the complaint. The representative also told OutKick that Irving never met the rabbi.
The Jazz issued a statement on the matter on Tuesday.
“The Utah Jazz Code of Conduct is in place so that games can be played without distractions or interruptions. No matter where someone is in the arena, if a sign is distracting or creates sparks and interaction with a player, we will ask them to remove it. “said the team.
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 January 1, 2024. (Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports)
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“During a player out of bounds in the first quarter of yesterday’s Jazz game against the Dallas Mavericks, there was a group sitting courtside whose signals sparked an interaction with a player that created a distraction and interfered with play. Next up Step of standard safety protocol was to ask fans to remove their signs. The part-time employee who told fans that the content of the sign was the problem was incorrect.
“The problem was the disruptive interaction caused by the use of the signs, not the content of the signs.”
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