Nike And Kyrie Irving are no longer affiliated, the company announced on Monday.
Following Irving’s sharing of antisemitic material on social media and his initial refusal to declare his opposition to antisemitism, the Brooklyn Nets player is no longer under contract with the global footwear company.
A Nike representative could not provide any additional information regarding the action right now.
The choice was mutual, Irving’s agent Shetellia Riley Irving told CNBC.
She said we’ve mutually decided to separate ways and wish Nike the best of luck with their further undertakings.
Irving didn’t respond to the news immediately, but he shared a video on Twitter that appeared to refer to the Nike contract being terminated.
The video’s title reads, “There’s nothing more priceless than being free.
After suspending its contract with the seasoned guard and announcing it wouldn’t launch the Kyrie 8 model of his sneakers, Nike chose to cut relations with Kyrie Irving a month later.
At the time, Nike read, “At Nike, we think there is no place for hate speech, and we condemn any antisemitism.”
Phil Knight, the creator of Nike, expressed his opinion that Irving crossed the line in an interview with CNBC last month.
In late November, the Kyrie 8 was supposed to be released. Since 2014, Irving has been a Nike employee.
Irving was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets, for whom he has been a player since 2019, for at least five games without pay after tweeting the racist video and then refusing to “unambiguously affirm he has no antisemitic ideas.”
When Irving didn’t provide an apology, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver declared the player “now unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.”
After they subsequently met, Irving apologized on his Instagram feed. Later, he informed reporters that he “stands against anything that is going against the human race,” including antisemitism and hate speech.
Kyrie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete, Nike spokesperson says. The sides have parted ways one month after Nike suspended its relationship with the Nets star. Irving has one of most popular signatures shoes in the NBA and is now a sneaker free agent.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 5, 2022
Irving said in late November that everyone should have the chance to speak for themselves when assumptions are made about them. “I feel like we all should have an opportunity to speak for ourselves when things are assumed about us, and I feel like I needed to stand in this place and take accountability for my actions because there was a way I should have handled all this, and as I look back and reflect when I had the opportunity to offer my deep regrets to anyone that felt threatened or felt hurt by what I posted, that wasn’t mine.
Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, was fired by Adidas and Gap for remarks he made earlier this year that were antisemitic.
On Halloween, the musician defended Irving in an Instagram post.
Ye posted a black and white image of Irving on October 31 along with the message, “There are some real ones still here.
On November 20, Kyrie Irving joined the Nets again after an absence of eight games. With a 13-12 record, the Nets are seventh in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
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