San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker is embroiled in controversy following his alleged use of what a Jewish human rights group believed was an anti-Semitic gesture.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is asking the All-Star to apologize after multiple French newspapers posted pictures of Parker doing the “quenelle,” a gesture described as “the Nazi salute in reverse,” Roger Cukierman, the leader of an umbrella group of French Jewish organizations, told Reuters.
The call for the apology comes just one day after French soccer star Nicolas Anelka sparked outrage by displaying the same gesture after scoring a goal for West Bromwich Albion of the English Premier League.
Anelka claimed his use of the “quenelle” was simply a tribute to Dieudonne, whose supporters have performed the same gesture in front of former Nazi concentration camps and synagogues. But on Monday, Anelka agreed to halt the celebration.
“The club fully acknowledges that Nicolas’ goal celebration has caused offense in some quarters and has asked Nicolas not to perform the gesture again,” West Brom said Monday in a statement, according to the AP.
“Nicolas immediately agreed to adhere to this request.”
Parker is seen using the gesture with French comedian Dieudonne, who invented the hand signal, in a photo taken backstage following one of Dieudonne’s shows in the fall. Dieudonne is a known supporter of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s views on the State of Israel and his film, “The Anti-Semite,” was banned from the Cannes Film Festival last year.
“As a leading sports figure on both sides of the Atlantic, Parker has a special moral obligation to disassociate himself from a gesture that the government of France has identified as anti-Semitic,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said, according to The Algemeiner.
Neither the NBA, nor the Spurs, immediately responded to a request from The Algemeiner, a New York newspaper that covers Jewish and Israeli news.
The Nets play in San Antonio on New Year’s eve, and the Knicks visit the Spurs on Thursday.