Adam Moynihan reports

Tralee Warriors and Kerry GAA legend Kieran Donaghy says he is “disgusted” by a Facebook comment made by the CEO of Basketball Ireland, Bernard O’Byrne, in the aftermath of England’s victory over Denmark in the semi-final of Euro 2020.

O’Byrne has since apologised for his controversial remark, which related to Raheem Sterling’s “dive” during Wednesday night’s high-profile match. Under a BBC article about the incident, O’Byrne replied “BLACK DIVES MATTER”, before subsequently deleting the post.

The comment – a play on words on the Black Lives Matter movement – was greeted by uproar in Irish basketball circles with O’Byrne receiving strong criticism online.

A statement released on the Basketball Ireland website at around 11.30pm on Thursday night read:

Basketball Ireland CEO Bernard O’Byrne has deleted a recent social media post, which made reference to an incident at Euro 2020. The comment was made from his personal account.

Mr O’Byrne said: “My choice of words commenting on a penalty incident were not thought out. It was an error of judgement and I wholeheartly apologise for the comments.”

Basketball Ireland would like to stress its ongoing commitment to inclusion and basketball’s diverse community, which has been led by Mr O’Byrne in recent years.

For Donaghy, the apology is not enough.

“Phone on fire this morning,” the Kerryman tweeted earlier today. “Disgusted to see this. I’ve worked so hard to promote the game of basketball in Ireland in a positive light as I [love] this game. His comment does not reflect the REAL basketball people of Ireland and I don’t think the rushed apology will cut it.”

Speaking to the Killarney Advertiser, Justin Tuason of the Killarney Cougars was also critical of O’Byrne’s comment and subsequent apology.

“The apology was the most generic one I’ve ever seen,” the Irish-American said. “I almost could have predicted that word for word.

"For a guy who was quick to lay down the iron fist and demand a public apology from a player for a critical tweet directed at him last year, I hope that the same swift and harsh justice is brought upon him.”