The Chicago Bulls dropped the curtain on the Jaden Ivey era on Monday, waiving the guard for conduct detrimental to the team. Ivey had made anti-LGBTQ comments on Instagram earlier in the day, and the Bulls unsurprisingly wasted little time cutting ties with him.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan was asked about the decision to part ways with Ivey in his presser before Monday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs and made it clear there are certain standards they want to have as an organization.
“I had not followed or seen that myself, but obviously Beth [Esler] had shared with me some of the stuff that was going on,” Donovan said, via Jared Weiss. “We’ve been on this road trip. I would just say this, at least since I’ve been with the Bulls, we’ve got people from all different backgrounds inside the organization… This goes for players, coaches, everybody in that building, what’s been [the message] from the top, we’re all going to work well together, we’re all going to basically take care of each other, we’re going to accept each other.
“I think we’re going to be hardworking,” Donovan stated. “We’re going to be accountable, and we’re going to be respectful, and we’re going to be professional. I think that’s kind of what it’s been. I know some of the things that were put out there. I think it’s a situation for him where it’s on his own personal Instagram.
“I don’t want to get into what he put out there, but certainly I hope for him he’s okay,” Donovan continued. “I don’t know, I’ve had conversations with Jaden and stuff, and he’s been always about rehabbing his knee, trying to get back on the court, wanting to play. But I think organizationally, there’s certain standards I think we want to have as an organization and try to live up to those each and every day.”
Ivey had started hosting long Instagram Live sessions after the Bulls ruled him out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury on Thursday. He was primarily preaching his faith in them, but also making comments that were not going to go down well.
Over the weekend, Ivey sparked concerns by sending controversial messages. Most notably, he claimed, “Catholicism is a false religion,” leading to fans getting worried about his mental health.
Ivey insisted all was well, but then sealed his fate on Monday. He called out the NBA for promoting Pride Month, claiming they were celebrating unrighteousness. Then, after the Bulls cut ties with him, Ivey ripped them for pointing to detrimental conduct as the reason.
“They said your conduct has been detrimental to the team,” Ivey explained on his livestream. “I haven’t even been with the team because I’ve been rehabbing. So, how is my conduct detrimental to the team?”
“Where have I done detriment?” Ivey continued. “Did I say, ‘Man, you suck?’ Did I say, ‘You suck,’ to the players? That would be detrimental to the team, right? Because I’m saying the player sucks, and I’m on the same team as him, and he’s my teammate. We’re supposed to be teammates.”
Ivey would also go on to slam Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry afterward. Concerns about him are growing, and Donovan spoke about the Bulls’ approach to mental health support.
“I think in this day and age, you have to be conscientious of all these guys may be going through things,” Donovan said. “And I’m not passing judgment on what Jaden is or is not going through. But I do worry about that, not only for Jaden, but for all of our players. Are we providing the resources, which I think we do, to help them in any way we can? I think if any player reached out and said I need some help in this, we could help them.”
The Bulls had acquired Ivey from the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 3 and have now parted ways with him less than two months later. He only featured four times for them, averaging 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game.
