Last Friday, Nike suspended its relationship with Kyrie Irving in the wake of his Tweet promoting an antisemitic movie. That’s no small thing, Irving has had a signature shoe line since 2014 and is reported to have a deal with Nike worth more than $10 million a season because his shoes are popular.
Nike is likely not going back on this. Nike co-founder Phil Knight was on CNBC and said as much.
“Kyrie stepped over the line, it’s kind of that simple,” says Nike co-founder Phil Knight. “He just made some statements we can’t abide by and that’s why we ended the relationship.” pic.twitter.com/VWWAEbsIku
— CNBC (@CNBC) November 10, 2022
“I would doubt that we go back. But I don’t know for sure.”
The Celtics Jaylen Brown had a fair response to Knight.
Since when did Nike care about ethics? https://t.co/f8t2eY994v
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) November 10, 2022
Irving met with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver this week. On Thursday, Silver said at a conference in Washington D.C. he didn’t think Irving was antisemitic, but that didn’t excuse his actions.
The earliest Irving could return from his suspension is Sunday, in Los Angeles against the Lakers, but many around the league expect he will be out longer. How much longer is the question. Siver said Irving’s return would be a “process” and that the Nets wanted to make it a partnership with him, but there were criteria he had to meet for them to bring him back on the court.
Nike isn’t thinking about a process for return, they were reportedly ready to drop Irving before this latest incident, now Knight makes it sound like Nike will not change its mind.
