Kyrie Irving's Partnership With Nike Appears To Reach Point Of No Return
Kyrie Irving is continuing to face consequences after seemingly promoting a film that included antisemitic tropes on Twitter. On October 27, the Brooklyn Nets star tweeted a link to Amazon's "Hebrew to Negroes: Wake Up Black America." The film, which was originally produced in 2018, highlights a number of Jewish stereotypes and also suggests that the Holocaust was faked. Shortly after, Nets' owner, Joe Tsai, condemned Irving's actions and explained that he was "disappointed" in the athlete for promoting the movie.
In the days that followed, Irving doubled down on his stance. "I'm not going to stand down on anything I believe in," Irving said at a press conference. However, Irving eventually changed his tune by issuing a full apology and announcing that he would be donating $500,000 to the Anti-Defamation League, CBS reports. Unfortunately, the Anti-Defamation League rejected Irving's donation as his apology appeared to come too late.
On the same day, Nike announced that they would also be suspending their partnership with the NBA star and had axed the launch of his upcoming Kyrie 8 sneaker. Now, the athletic apparel company is further elaborating on their relationship with Irving and it now appears as if the collaboration has likely ended for good.
Nike's co-founder says Kyrie Irving 'stepped over the line'
The fallout from Kyrie Irving's tweet, and subsequent refusal to apologize, has been swift. On November 3, the Brooklyn Nets announced that they would be suspending Irving for five games, and also outlined a list of tasks the athlete would have to complete before being reinstated to the team. "Irving's reinstatement included a public statement recognizing the film is antisemitic, an apology for supporting the film and the falsehoods within it, and training sessions on the dangers of hate speech," sources told ESPN. And while it's unclear whether Irving has accepted the terms laid out by the Brooklyn Nets, his partnership with Nike seems to be officially over.
In a November 10 interview with CNBC, Nike co-founder Phil Knight revealed that the company's deal with Irving is mostly likely over. "I would doubt that we go back," Knight said. "But I don't know for sure." Knight went on to add that the NBA star simply "stepped over the line," preventing the company from continuing their partnership with the athlete.