Shannon Sharpe weighed in on the controversies surrounding Kanye West and Kyrie Irving. As the two stars faced major backlash for their anti-Semitic behavior, the sport analyst thought that the punishment for them was too severe.
“I don’t speak for everybody in the black community,” Shannon shared. “But let me tell you why some of the black people are rallying behind Kyrie and Kanye. It’s because when blacks have a misstep, it seems that we suffer the harshest penalties.”
Compared to the attacks that black community has been facing so far, Shannon noted that no one was punished as hard as Ye and Kyrie. “You see other groups offend Blacks, and they never suffer the penalty that Kyrie and Kanye have suffered,” he pointed out.
He went on to argue that black people are held to a different standard, even after apologizing. “He or she said they were sorry. Why can’t we get the same benefit of the doubt?” he continued.
Shannon also said that although he believes Kyrie was “wrong,” he still thinks “the punishment was excessive.” He also brought up former President Donald Trump, who made incendiary remarks about the Jewish community. “After what President Trump has said about the American Jews versus the Israeli Jews, and what he’s tweeted, and what he’s posted. And he ain’t got canceled yet,” he said.
“We’ve seen instances where they have done things, they never been canceled,” Shannon added. “They canceled us, no questions asked. There’s not enough apologies. Kyrie can get on his bended knee. He can come to the people in the most humble way he know how. Bowed head, humble heart, and bent knee. And that’s still not enough for some.”
Kyrie angered people after he promoted an anti-Semitic film on social media. Amid the backlash, the NBA player was suspended by Brooklyn Nets and the team outlined six conditions for Kyrie to be able to be back in the team. Additionally, Nike terminated its partnership with the athlete.
As for Kanye, the “Donda” rapper was canceled by many brands, including Adidas, Balenciaga and Gap, following his anti-Semitic remarks. The ex-husband of Kim Kardashian also admitted that he lost $2 billion in one day amid the controversy.
