09 Nov Nike Suspends Relationship With Kyrie Irving
Nike suspended its ties with Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving and canceled his line of shoes following his promotion on social media of an anti-semitic documentary.
This would have been Irving’s eighth shoe line with the company, the Kyrie 8, with a scheduled November 8 release.
Nike said, “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. We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
Nike’s move on Friday came a day after the Nets suspended Irving for at least five games, citing Irving’s “failure to disavow antisemitism” on social media or in meetings with reporters.