Nike has paused its endorsement arrangement with Kyrie Irving… and his signature sneaker has been cancelled.
“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism.” the shoe company explained in a statement on Friday.
Nike also announced that the Kyrie 8 basketball sneaker will no longer be released, stating, “We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
As you may know, Kyrie has endured a barrage of criticism since tweeting a link to an anti-Semitic video last week.
Nike isn’t the first company to condemn Irving. The Nets suspended him for at least five games on Thursday after he failed to apologize publicly for supporting the video. Kyrie will not be permitted to play for the Nets again unless he “satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct.”
After being punished, the point guard ultimately delivered a long apology on social media, but his sincerity is being questioned.
Kyrie’s apology was insufficient to repair his relationship with Nike… at least for the time being.