The equipment supplier Nike announced on Friday evening that it had suspended its partnership with Kyrie Irving.
Keystone
The Brooklyn Nets point guard has been at the center of a media storm since his promotion of an anti-Semitic film, which also led his NBA team to put him aside.
“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn all forms of anti-Semitism,” the company said in a statement. “To this end, we have taken the decision to suspend our collaboration with Kyrie Irving, with immediate effect,” continued Nike without specifying until when, or if this augurs a break.
Impact
In the meantime, “the commercial launch of the ‘Kyrie 8’ shoe, developed with the player, “will not take place”, as was planned this month, added the brand at the comma, saying to itself “deeply saddened and disappointed by this situation and its impact on everyone”.
This decision echoes the even stronger and more definitive decision of Adidas, which ten days ago broke the contract linking the brand to the three stripes with rapper Kanye West, suspended from Twitter and Instagram after writing that he was going to s attack the Jews.
Irving, who ended up apologizing “to all the Jewish families and communities who have been hurt and affected” by his message, is not yet totally let go, neither by his club nor by the NBA which does not has not yet sanctioned, nor by Nike therefore.
At least five matches
The Nets nevertheless suspended him for at least five games, saying they were “appalled by his failure to disavow anti-Semitism” and by his long-standing refusal to apologize for promoting a film on his social networks. of an anti-Semitic nature, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” by putting links to the Amazon site to rent or buy it.
This sidelining could nevertheless last longer, the Brooklyn franchise explaining that beyond the apologies made, there was still a long way to go. “Actions speak louder than words. And so he will have time to think about all that,” said the Nets general manager, wishing in particular that Irving “meet leaders of the Jewish community of Brooklyn in order to educate himself on issues related to anti-Semitism” .
ATS
