New York, New York - The Brooklyn Nets have lifted Kyrie Irving's suspension after the controversial player finally did what he couldn’t bring himself to do last month: offer a genuine apology.

The Nets star point guard has not appeared in a game since he was suspended by the team on November 3 for a minimum of five games for his failure to properly apologize for posting a link to an antisemitic film on his social media accounts.

He is now expected to return to the court for Sunday’s NBA matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies at Barclays Center.

"I really want to focus on the hurt that I caused or the impact that I made within the Jewish community. Putting some type of threat, or assumed threat, on the Jewish community," Irving said in a video interview with SNY’s Ian Begley on Saturday.

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"I just want to apologize deeply for all my actions throughout the time that it’s been since the post was first put up. I’ve had a lot of time to think. But my focus, initially, if I could do it over, would be to heal and repair a lot of my close relationships with my Jewish relatives, brothers and sisters."

The interview posted Saturday afternoon was the first time Irving has offered an apology outside of social media since the controversy began.

Irving defended his initial reaction to the backlash he received for posting a link to the film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, and receiving a suspension for his refusal to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs," as the Nets said in their statement announcing his suspension.

"I felt like I was protecting my character," Irving told SNY. "And I reacted out of just pure defense and just hurt that I could be labeled, or I thought that I was being labeled as antisemitic or anti-Jewish, and I’ve felt like that was just so disrespectful to ask me whether or not I was antisemitic or not."

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"Now to the outside world, that may have been seen as a simple 'yes' or 'no.' Which rightfully so, it should've been, 'No, I'm not antisemitic. No, I’m not anti-Jewish.'"

"But it wasn’t in that initial conversation, and I take my accountability and I want to apologize for that, because it came off the wrong way completely."