Kyrie Irving remains the talk of the town in the NBA right now. The Brooklyn Nets star decided to get himself in trouble again after sharing a movie full of antisemitism on Twitter, earning a lot of criticism from the general public, NBA fans, people within the Nets organization, and many more.
Kyrie was suspended for five games by the Nets, who also gave a list of conditions he must complete before returning to the court with the team. While some have continued to criticize Kyrie, LeBron James showed his support for the point guard, calling out the Nets over the conditions they want Kyrie to complete before being reinstated.
Not everybody thinks the same as LeBron, and some companies are ready to cut ties with Kyrie after his most recent controversy. This has become a big issue for the 2016 NBA champion, but he’s always taking pride in his decisions.
Nike Is Finishing Kyrie Irving Partnership
Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, recently talked on CNBC about this Kyrie situation, revealing that his activity on social media, the refusal to apologize until after he was suspended, and everything in between granted Irving’s exit from the company.
Via The Athletic:
“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.”
The Nets said they suspended Irving for “no less than five games” because Irving refused to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic views.”
“Same situation,” Knight said. “He was dug in.”
Knight also discussed Nike’s process of partnering with athletes.
“We look at who we sign and how much we pay, and we look at not only how good the athlete is, but how his or her character (is), so it’s not an exact science, but it’s a process that we go through with a lot of intensity, with a lot of people sticking their hand in it, and that’s one that goes all the way to the CEO because some of the numbers (athletes) are paid are pretty big,” he said.
Just like Kanye West, Kyrie is now suffering the consequences of his actions, and every day, more people decide to stop supporting him and become a detractor of Irving. Things look very different for him now after this controversial decision, and it’ll take a lot of time to see Kyrie fixing the relationships he’s broken in recent times.
Some say he won’t be able to complete the list of conditions the Nets gave him, but at least the team doesn’t show him on the injury report, meaning that his return to the court could be close.
If you are interested in more NBA news, follow us on Google News for the latest updates.
