The NBA has requested that Gary Gilbert, a part-owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, be suspended for sending threatening social media comments to a pro-Palestinian group sponsoring a Gaza cease-fire demonstration.
The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) requested a meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to address Gilbert’s social media remarks.
Gilbert is a film producer with an Academy Award nomination and a minority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Dan, his brother, owns the majority of the team.
“We are requesting a meeting with you to discuss the ways that you and your team will ensure that hate and bigotry against our community finds no home in the NBA,” Abed Ayoub, executive director of the anti-discrimination organization, wrote in a letter to the NBA commissioner.
For the safety of Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim fans, we demand that [Gary] Gilbert be immediately suspended from all NBA arenas.”
J-Town Action and Solidarity, a grassroots movement headquartered in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo neighborhood, posted screenshots of direct messages sent from Gary Gilbert’s Instagram account last week.
The tweets were in reaction to a post asking people to gather outside the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance on November 8 for a screening of “Bearing Witness,” a film that includes graphic video of the deadly October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Israel’s Defense Forces previously released the clip.
Gilbert commented, “We will be armed and ready for you cowardly punks this Wednesday” and “We are armed and ready for you punks.” We’re not afraid in the least.”
“Please include this in your story, I would be honored!” he said.
Gilbert did not attend the film premiere on November 8th and has since made his social media profiles private.
Gilbert acknowledged writing the comments in a statement sent to CNN on Monday.
“During a period of significant emotional distress and fear over the rise in hate, I made a hurried social media comment that was unfortunately misconstrued.” When I claimed we were “armed and ready,” I meant we had local police on hand to secure our safety.
Gilbert commented, “We will be armed and ready for you cowardly punks this Wednesday” and “We are armed and ready for you punks.” We’re not afraid in the least.”
“Please include this in your story, I would be honored!” he said.
Gilbert did not attend the film premiere on November 8th and has since made his social media profiles private.
Gilbert acknowledged writing the comments in a statement sent to CNN on Monday.
“During a period of significant emotional distress and fear over the rise in hate, I made a hurried social media comment that was unfortunately misconstrued.” When I claimed we were “armed and ready,” I meant we had local police on hand to secure our safety.
In a statement to CNN, the Cleveland Cavaliers stated that Gilbert is a “very small passive investor” in the team and that his posts “do not represent the views of the team, ownership group, or management.”
According to NBA spokesman Mike Bass, the league has spoken with both the Cavaliers and the ADC.
Gilbert told CNN that he did not support violence.
“I abhor violence and hatred in any form.” Social media is too divided and destructive for these discussions. “The safety and security of everyone in our community is most important to me,” he stated in the statement.
However, Ayoub believes the NBA should approach Gilbert’s remarks in the same way it dealt with racist remarks made by Donald Sterling, the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Sterling was banned from the league for life in 2014 after recordings of him making racist remarks surfaced.
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