Nike has announced that they will be suspending their relationship with Kyrie Irving after he posted the link to an antisemitic documentary and struggled to issue a sound and timely apology for it.
The company also announced that they have scrapped plans to launch the Kyrie 8, the point guard’s next signature sneaker.
Read the official statement below.
At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism.
To that end, we’ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8 [Irving’s next signature sneaker].
We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.
This news comes one day after the Brooklyn Nets handed down a five-game suspension without pay for the NBA baller.
On Friday (November 4), Kyrie Irving took to his Instagram page to issue a public apology to the Jewish community.
The apology read, in part:
To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize.
I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary.
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