After several days of silence, Nike announced it has suspended its business relationship with Kyrie Irving due to his peddling of antisemitic conspiracy theories. The company will not launch the Kyrie 8.
Front Office Sports requested a comment from Nike on Thursday evening. In a statement to Front Office Sports on Friday, the retailer said: “At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism. … We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
Last week, Irving came under fire for tweeting a link to a movie that includes multiple antisemitic tropes. When asked repeatedly whether he was antisemitic, Irving could not simply say no.
On Thursday night, the Nets suspended him indefinitely, saying he would be out for a minimum of five games. The Anti-Defamation League, which had previously released a public statement in conjunction with Irving, then condemned his comments. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on Twitter that Irving had much more work to do.
Irving issued an apology on Instagram late Thursday night —- though the damage had already been done.
Earlier in the day, the FBI said released a statement warning synagogues in New Jersey to be on alert for a potential attack due to a recent rise of antisemitic ideology.
