DeMar DeRozan is a six-time NBC all-star, a devoted family man, and a quiet, unassuming NBA superstar. When he heard in early January that Oron Beilin, one of the victims of the Hamas massacre of Jews at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, was a huge Chicago Bulls fan, he autographed a special jersey for Beilin’s family with Oron’s name and the infinity symbol underneath.
It was a simple, graceful act done without fanfare or press coverage. The gesture caught the attention of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which decided to honor DeRozan for his act of kindness.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the most influential Jewish organizations in the world. Since its founding in 1977, it has been at the forefront of fighting anti-Semitism. It was a huge honor for the 34-year-old player, who has spent his career steering clear of political controversies.
But simply appearing at an event and saying a few words in front of a banner proclaiming “Solidarity with Israel” has caused a huge backlash by pro-Palestinian Twitter/X posters and others who have taken a non-political gesture by DeRozan completely out of context.
DeRozan doesn’t want anything to do with the controversy.
“My whole career, I’ve never gotten involved with the politics side of things,” DeRozan said. “That’s just never a thing that I’ve ever really touched on or spoke on. I went there for the reason I went there for. We’re all going through something as people, as a country, as a world that we’re all battling, that we’re all trying to figure out and trying to get through at the end of the day.”
The outcry against him was vicious.
Demar derozan?????? pic.twitter.com/ol2l2OMsTQ
— ✮ (@UTDJalen) April 4, 2024
Demar Derozan joins Lebron James and Floyd Mayweather on list of spineless athletes who are men only by name 👍 pic.twitter.com/skoUWebENl
— 🧕🏼 (@ghazawiyah) April 4, 2024
As a ride or die DeMar DeRozan fan,
There is no excuse for a grown man not to know there is an active genocide happening with his tax dollars.
Additionally, he has managers, PR reps, and his own brain. Not one person thought twice abt this???
Stop excusing genocide apologists. https://t.co/KWbR4KCeNL
— sidra (@KashmiriChai32) April 4, 2024
DeRozan’s speech accepting the award was class all the way. He talked about the importance of people uplifting each other, about his own struggles with depression over the last decade, and about the importance of community.
Not once did he mention Israel or the war.
DeRozan gave a generic speach about mental health at the reception of an philanthropy award
He never explicitly supported Israel AT ALL pic.twitter.com/460E6H8GTc
— 💢👾 (@GreggPopowich) April 4, 2024
DeRozan’s gift to Beilin’s family, in January, stood out since few professional athletes have made public statements of any kind about the Hamas attack on Israel or the war it spawned. Non-Jewish celebrities of any kind are a rarity at pro-Israel events these days. And unlike Floyd Mayweather, another high-profile athlete honored by pro-Israel groups for his philanthropy after Oct. 7, DeRozan does not have a record of domestic violence.
Online, one critic used the DeRozan video to grouse about the dearth of pro-Palestinian voices in the NBA, asking, “Other than Kyrie and Jaylen, who else supports Palestine, man?” with a broken-heart emoji.
That’s Kyrie, as in Irving, who was suspended from the Brooklyn Nets in 2022 for antisemitism, after sharing a link to a Holocaust-denial movie. Irving, who now plays for the Dallas Mavericks, also said Ashkenazi Jews used slavery to steal authentic Jewish identity from African nations and refused to say in a follow-up news conference that he was not antisemitic.
DeMar DeRozan will continue to quietly make a difference in his community and around the world. And he’ll continue to play a great game of basketball, endearing himself to fans around the world.
The haters be damned.