(Basketball news) Nike’s long standing lucrative partnership with Kyrie Irving, that has existed since 2014 has finally come to an end after the NBA star posted an antisemitic film on social media. The company had initially suspended Irving following a backlash and said it wouldn’t release its latest Irving-branded shoe following his social media post. The film linked to the post apparently contains hateful tropes about Jewish people as well as false claims that the Holocaust didn’t happen. The incident comes after Ye (Kanye West) expressed some antisemitic views, losing a massive partnership deal with Adidas as a result.
Irving said he meant no harm by sharing the link but was subsequently suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for five games. The team said at the time he was “unfit to be associated” with the franchise after which Irving took to Instagram to post
“To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected by my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize. I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled antisemitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish brothers and sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the documentary.
Kyrie Irving
“I want to clarify any confusion on where I stand fighting against antisemitism by apologizing for posting the documentary without context and a factual explanation outlining the specific beliefs in the documentary I agreed with and disagreed with. I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate.”
“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism. To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8. We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
said Nike in a statement
Nike could justify their decision to part ways with Kyrie Irving as their deals with Michael Jordan and LeBron James are more lucrative. The company earned about $5 billion from their $44.5 billion revenue last year. Irving and Nike’s deal was due to expire in October 2023 and Shetellia Riley Irving, the player’s agent said “We mutually decided to part ways and we just wish Nike all the best.”
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