Basketball star praises media workers in Gaza, where nearly 300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023.
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Published February 16, 2026
Basketball superstar Kyrie Irving wore a shirt with the word “PRESS” written on it. The NBA All-Star Game honors journalists who covered Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The tag on the shirt the Dallas Mavericks point guard was wearing Sunday read, “Dedicated to our beloved journalists in Gaza who show the world the truth,” according to reports.
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Israel’s attacks on Gaza have killed nearly 300 journalists and media workers since the war began in October 2023, with about 12 journalists killed each month, including 10 Al Jazeera journalists.
A tally by Shireen.ps, a monitoring website named after Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akre, who was killed by an Israeli sniper in the occupied West Bank in 2022, means the war in Gaza has become the deadliest conflict in modern history for media workers.
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The number of Palestinian journalists imprisoned by Israel has also increased since the start of the war, according to a January report by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Journalist rights groups noted that Israel arrested more than 90 Palestinian journalists during that period.
In addition to killing and imprisoning journalists, Israel also bans foreign journalists from entering Gaza. The only exception is allowing journalists into the country as part of tightly controlled tours organized by the Israeli military, despite calls from media organizations and press freedom groups for more open access.
Sunday’s courtside appearance was not the first time Irving, 33, has expressed support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
In a pre-match interview in November 2024, he was seen wearing a chain with the Palestinian flag in the shape of Israel’s landmass.
A year ago, he made headlines when he attended a postgame press conference wearing a keffiyeh, a distinctive checkered cotton headdress that represents Palestinian identity in many parts of the Arab world.
Separately, during NBA All-Star weekend, Irving’s former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate and four-time champion LeBron James received backlash online after addressing Israeli fans.
“If there are fans over there, I’ve never been there, but if there are fans over there, I hope I can make the people over there not only want to be great in sports, but want to be better in life in general. Hopefully, I can go over there one day. Like I said, I’ve never been over there, but I’ve heard nothing but great things,” the Los Angeles Lakers superstar said in a pregame press conference.
Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023 have killed more than 72,000 people, including thousands of children.
Attacks continue despite a U.S.-brokered “ceasefire” that began in October. They killed over 600 Palestinians.
