Kyrie Irving has been in the middle of a controversy for a while now. It began when he shared a post about a movie that was considered to be antisemitic, and since then, the matter has been blown out of proportion quite a bit. While the initial response to Irving was one of immense backlash, things have shifted in his favor a bit in the last few weeks.
For one, Irving himself apologized and then went through all the necessary steps to get back to playing for the Brooklyn Nets. Kyrie Irving was asked to do a lot more than most people have been, and he came through and did all of it. The Nets man did end up facing some more permanent repercussions than the suspension he received, though his partnership with Nike was suspended.
“Nike announces the company is suspending its relationship with Kyrie Irving, effective immediately, and will no longer launch his new Kyrie 8.”
Well, it seems that the company didn’t think it was quite enough. Either that or Irving himself wasn’t pleased with the way he had been treated. Because Shams Charania reported recently that the athlete and the brand have now parted ways.
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 most popular signatures shoes in the NBA and is now a sneaker free agent.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 5, 2022
“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 most popular signatures shoes in the NBA and is now a sneaker free agent.”
Irving is a very lucrative athlete, his shoes have been one of the most prominent in recent times. However, the controversy seems to have gotten too much for Nike, and this decision isn’t too surprising considering Phil Knight’s earlier comments.
Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight Condemned Kyrie Irving For Stepping Over A Line
Nike has done plenty of questionable things as a company, as Jaylen Brown pointed out to them during this whole saga. But whatever the case, co-founder Phil Knight was not impressed with Kyrie Irving’s antics and said so out loud.
“Kyrie stepped over the line,” Knight said. “It’s kind of that simple, so he made some statements that we just can’t abide by and that’s why we ended the relationship. And yeah, I was fine with that.”
There are a lot of athletes who get things wrong, but this seems to be a very harsh turn for the situation to have taken. Kyrie Irving has apologized and since not said much, if anything, on the issue, so this does seem a bit heavy-handed. It is a shame for all the fans that are big fans of the Kyries Nike used to make.
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