Kyrie Irving and Nike part ways after backlash for anti-Semitism

The Brooklyn Nets guard tweeted a link to a movie with anti-Semitic content, and as a result, Nike has terminated its association with him and abandoned plans to sell his next signature shoe. This is the latest development in the continuing controversy.

The shoe industry behemoth said on Friday night that it would sever its partnership with Irving, who has been benched by the Nets for repeatedly refusing to “unambiguously claim he has no antisemitic sentiments.”

The Nets took that action on Thursday, suspending Irving for at least five games without pay. The following day, Nike announced its choice. The Anti-Defamation League and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, among many others, voiced harsh censure in response to such activities.

The Beaverton, Oregon-based business said: “At Nike, we think there is no place for hate speech and we reject any kind of antisemitism. The Kyrie 8 will no longer be released as a result of our decision to immediately sever our connection with Kyrie Irving.

Since 2014, Irving has had a signature collection with Nike.

The event and its effects on everyone have greatly grieved and disappointed Nike, the company stated.

In 2011, Irving joined Nike not long after being selected first overall in the NBA draft. Three years later, Irving’s first trademark shoe was produced, and the success of the Kyrie line led to him earning an estimated $11 million per year simply from the Nike endorsement.

In the next week, the Kyrie 8 was supposed to be launched. On Friday night, the Nike website still had older styles of his sneakers available for purchase.

Last week, Irving shared a link to the video “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which contains Holocaust denial and Jewish conspiracy claims. The tweet has now been removed. Last Saturday, during a heated postgame interview, Irving defended his freedom to post anything he wants.

From then, the consequences were only worse. The NBA issued a statement over the weekend that condemned all sorts of hate speech but omitted Irving’s name. On Monday night, a day after he removed the post, supporters wearing “Fight Antisemitism” shirts filled several courtside seats for the Brooklyn-Indiana game. The Irving issue has overshadowed the Tuesday split between the Nets and coach Steve Nash.

On Wednesday, Irving declared his opposition to all kinds of hatred and the Brooklyn Nets and he both made the announcement that they would each contribute $500,000 to organizations that fight against it. When challenged directly on Thursday whether he holds antisemitic views, Irving declined to respond. Silver afterwards released a fresh statement in which he specifically called on Irving to apologize.

Evidently, the Nets’ suspension of him stems from that. Irving then apologized for not specifying the precise views with which he agreed and opposed when he uploaded the documentary on Instagram.

Irving stated, “To All Jewish families and Communities who are upset and touched by my article, I sincerely apologize for having caused you anguish. “At first, I responded emotionally to being falsely accused of being anti-Semitic instead of concentrating on the healing of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters who were wounded by the cruel statements expressed in the Documentary,” the author says.

Nike, which had also received criticism for not acting more quickly, acted the next day.

Irving is the second famous person to lose a significant shoe contract due to antisemitism in less than two weeks. Adidas cut ties with Ye, the musician formerly known as Kanye West, in the latter part of last month. According to the German company, this will result in losses of about $250 million this year due to the suspension of both payments to Ye and his companies as well as the production of its line of Yeezy products.

Ye made antisemitic remarks in interviews and on social media for weeks, including a tweet that he would soon “go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent allusion to the DEFCON scale used by the United States to measure military preparedness.

Throughout his career, Irving hasn’t been shy about voicing his views. Before finally apologizing to the science instructors, he continually questioned if the Earth was spherical. Last season, he was prohibited from taking part in the majority of the Nets’ home games because of his reluctance to get the COVID-19 vaccination.

Without Irving, the Nets defeated Washington 128-86 on Friday. The Nets’ 42-point victory ranked fourth in team history.

Sean Marks, general manager of Brooklyn, stated earlier on Friday that although Irving’s apology was a positive development, there are still many more procedures to be taken before he can return to the field.

After dealing with some anti-hate and some Jewish leaders in our community, there will be “some corrective procedures and measures that have been put in place for him to clearly get some treatment,” Marks added. “After this, he’s going to have to sit down with them and the organization, and we’ll review and see whether this is the proper time to bring him back,” the speaker said.