Why were rabbis told to take down sign saying ‘I’m a Jew and I’m proud’ during Mavs game?

A group of rabbis attending the Utah Jazz’s game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Delta Center on Monday were asked to remove their signs reading ‘I’m a Jew and I’m proud,’ for violating the Jazz audience code of conduct.

The signs were a protest of the involvement of Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving who had come under fire for publicizing the movie “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” on X, formerly Twitter in November of 2022. The movie came under fire for featuring anti-Semitic tropes.

The NBA suspended Irving, then a member of the Brooklyn Nets, for eight games for the post and Irving subsequently apologized for the hurt he caused to the Jewish community.

Rabbi Avremi Zippel is a Jazz fan who got the courtside seats to ensure that Irving would see the signs. Zippel stated that Irving said “No need to bring that to a game,” in the first quarter and that shortly after they were told by Jazz staff to put the signs away in a post on X.

The Jazz put out a statement explaining the content of the signs was not an issue but that the sign prompted an interaction with a player that caused a distraction.

Zippel responded on X criticizing the policy and saying he was disappointed by the response by the Jazz.

“Bottom line: there was one person, in a building of 18,000+, that was triggered by sign that says “I’m a Jew and I’m proud,” said Zippel, “Why that bothers him so, to the point that it sparks an interaction, should be the real question anyone is asking.”

The Jazz beat the Mavericks 127-90 in the game on Monday. Irving and the Mavs have yet to make a statement about the incident.