Nike broke the news that they will no longer have a relationship with Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving. It comes after his antisemitic comment on Twitter.
Here is everything you need to know.
Nike will no longer launch Kyrie Irving’s Kyrie 8
Nike released a statement to announce that they are suspending its relationship with Nets star Kyrie Irving effective immediately.
In addition, Irving’s final signature shoe with the brand, Kyrie 8 is currently in limbo.
The statement read, ‘At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism.’
They , ‘To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately. will no longer launch the Kyrie 8. We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.’
Besides that, Irving has missed at least five games of the Brooklyn Nets. If you didn’t know he was suspended for sharing the link to an antisemitic book titled, ‘Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.’
Irving’s suspension comes after his initial doubled-down decision to share messages on the microblogging site.
Regardless, Nets general manager Sean Marks was asked whether Irving will be released from the team or not.
However, he responded with, ‘No. Not at this particular time.’
He added, ‘There is going to be some remedial steps and measures that have been put in place for him. To obviously seek some counseling from dealing with some anti-hate and some Jewish leaders within our community.’
Kyrie Irving apologizes for his unintentional antisemitic Twitter comment
Kyrie Irving took full responsibility for his actions as he issued an apology statement from his official Instagram handle.
He wrote, ‘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.’
Furthermore, the 30-year-old athlete said, ‘I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary.’
He continued, ‘I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate. I am learning from this unfortunate event and hope we can find understanding between us all.’