Kyrie Irving Responds To Parting Ways With Nike: ‘There’s Nothing More Priceless Than Being Free’
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Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving and Nike have terminated their partnership.
Nike suspended Irving after he tweeted a clip from a documentary called “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.” The film contained many anti-Semitic tropes. In a statement, Nike condemned all forms of anti-Semitism and suspended the launch of a new shoe of Irving’s when they announced his suspension.
When he was given a chance to apologize after a practice, Irving called himself a “beacon of light,” and said he planned to “continue to expose things our world continues to put in darkness.”
Irving was suspended without pay by the Nets later that day, and the Nets required him to go through sensitivity training to be eligible to return. Irving apologized in an Instagram post a few hours after the Nets announced his suspension.
The Brooklyn guard returned from his eight-game suspension after the Nets felt he was ready to return. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James were among those who felt the Nets made Irving go through an excessively long process to return to basketball. However, many others, such as the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt criticized Irving’s initial apology as insufficient.
“The answer to the question “Do you have any antisemitic beliefs” is always NO without equivocation,” Greenblatt wrote in a tweet. “We took @KyrieIrving at his word when he said he took responsibility, but today he did not make good on that promise. Kyrie clearly has a lot of work to do.”
On Monday, the Athletic’s basketball insider, Shams Charania, tweeted that his partnership with Nike was over.
“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 the popular signature shoes in the NBA and is now a sneaker free agent,” Charania wrote.
Irving indirectly responded to Charania’s breaking news with a gif and did not seem to be bothered by losing one of the biggest shoe companies in the world.
“There’s nothing more priceless than being free,” the caption of the gif read.
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