ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Nike says Kyrie Irving is no longer one of its athletes

Share

Kyrie Irving's relationship with Nike is officially over, the shoe and athletic apparel maker said Monday, a move that came a month after the company suspended the Brooklyn guard as part of the fallout over his tweeting a link to a film containing antisemitic material.

It was not a surprise breakup, especially after Nike co-founder Phil Knight said in the days after the company suspended Irving that he had doubts there would be any reconciliation.

"Kyrie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete," the company said in a statement.

Irving's agent and stepmother, Shetellia Riley Irving, told The New York Times that the sides "mutually decided to part ways and we just wish Nike all the best." Irving, without mentioning Nike by name, appeared to address the matter on his Twitter account Monday afternoon.

"Anyone who has even spent their hard earned money on anything I have ever released, I consider you FAMILY and we are forever connected," the Nets guard wrote. "it's time to show how powerful we are as a community."

Irving has been wearing his signature line of Nike in recent games. It's unknown if the formal ending of his relationship with Nike will affect that, at least in the short term. He had been a Nike athlete for the entirety of his NBA career, starting in 2011, and got his first signature shoe with the company in 2014.

When Nike suspended Irving in early November, the company was just days away from releasing the Kyrie 8, what would have been the latest in his signature line.

"At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism," the Beaverton, Oregon-based company said at the time.

Irving missed eight games before being reinstated by the Nets on Nov. 20. He apologized that day to those who felt threatened or hurt when he posted a link to the documentary, and acknowledged that he should have handled earlier chances to clarify whether he has antisemitic beliefs differently.

"I don't stand for anything close to hate speech or antisemitism or anything that is going against the human race," Irving said on the day the Nets reinstated him.

Irving has expressed no shortage of controversial opinions during his career. He repeatedly questioned whether the Earth was round before eventually apologizing to science teachers. Last year, his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine led to him being banned from playing in most of the Nets' home games.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

DEVELOPING

DEVELOPING Here's what we know about Israel's latest strike in Beirut

Smoke is rising over Lebanon’s capital of Beirut Friday after Israel’s military struck southern suburbs – a dramatic escalation in a year-long period of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

Stay Connected