Nike broke its sponsorship contract with Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving in the NBA on Monday after the point guard recently promoted an anti-Semitic film on his Twitter account.
Nike’s decision, confirmed by a spokesman to the US media, was made a month after the brand suspended its sponsorship relationship with Irving.
The Nets player did not explicitly comment on the termination of the contract, but wrote on Twitter that "there is nothing more valuable than being free".
According to Irving’s representative, Shetellia Riley Irving, the separation from Nike was "consensual".
Nike signed Irving in 2011, the year he made his NBA debut as the No. 1 draft pick, and released its first line of shoes dedicated to the point guard in 2014.
The number 11 of the Nets, who in the past has had other controversies such as his refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, published in October on his Twitter account, with 4.5 million followers, an Amazon link to the film "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America" (2018).
This tape is based on a book of the same title published in 2015 that, according to Rolling Stone magazine, includes a multitude of anti-Semitic statements such as that "many famous jews" they have "admitted" who pray to "satan or lucifer".
In its Amazon description, the tape claims "discover the true identity of the Children of Israel".
Irving’s promotion of this film received harsh criticism from the Nets, the NBA, and the league’s players’ union.
Irving was suspended by the Nets at least five games for his anti-Semitic message and his initial refusal to apologize explicitly.
Finally, the player apologized and returned to the court after missing eight games for his team.
Before the suspension, Irving had confronted a journalist at a press conference who asked him the reasons for promoting the anti-Semitic film.
"Don’t dehumanize me. I’m a human being, I can write what I want (on social media), so say it and shut up so we can move on to the next question"he stated then.
Shortly thereafter, Irving and the Nets announced that they would each donate half a million dollars to "causes and organizations working to eradicate hate and intolerance".
