Chicago Bulls Star Sparks Backlash and Concern with Unhinged Rants on NBA Pride Night, Religion

FILE – Chicago Bulls guard Jaden Ivey warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Toronto Raptors, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Chicago Bulls star Jaden Ivey has left the basketball community concerned over a string of troubling rants posted on social media.

Ivey, 24, recently scrubbed his social media accounts. At the time of writing, the only posts that remained on his Instagram page were posts of his children and a handful of length videos. Each totaling more than half an hour, the videos showed Ivey ranting about a variety of topics. For the most part, the topics largely centered on religion.

Throughout the rants, Ivey repeatedly used the term “righteousness” while talking about his faith. In an effort to drive home his point that all other aspects of his life were ultimately irrelevant, Ivey declared that the Detroit Pistons — his former team — are “not gonna matter on Judgment Day.”

In another video, Ivey took issue with teams in the NBA celebrating the LGBTQ community with Pride Night. He called the idea “unrighteousness.”

“They proclaim Pride Month in the NBA,” Ivey said. “They proclaim it. They show it to the world. They say, ‘Come join us for Pride Month,’ to celebrate unrighteousness. They proclaim it. They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it in the streets — unrighteousness. So how is it that one can’t speak righteousness? [Who] are they to say that, ‘Man, this man is crazy’?”

Fans attempted to offer well wishes to Ivey in the comment section of his videos. Ivey, however, wasn’t interested.

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