Corporate Sneaker Giant Nike ends partnership with Kyrie Irving
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving takes the floor against the Toronto Raptors (Photo by: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports)
Kyrie Irving and Nike are no longer in a perfect marriage. One month after Nike’s initial suspension, the sides have parted ways as confirmed on Monday by a Nike Spokesperson. Kyrie Irving signed with Nike back in 2011 and his sneakers were a top-five seller for the company. In early November, Nike suspended its partnership with Irving after promoting a film that contained antisemitic material. Although Irving publicly apologized for denouncing antisemitism to the NBA, his actions crossed the line for Nike.
On November 10th, Co-founder Phil Knight addressed this matter and acknowledged that Irving's remarks were against Nike’s values as a company via CNBC:
“Kyrie stepped over the line. it’s kind of that simple, He made some statements that we just can’t abide by, and why we ended the relationship. I was fine with that.”We look at who we sign and how much we pay and we look not only at how good the athlete is but what his or her character are, it's not an exact science but it's a process that we go through with a lot of intensity and with a lot of people sticking their hand in it.”
Knight’s comments were quite alarming for several players around the NBA. The Celtics Forward Jaylen Brown who’s been in support of Irving expressed his thoughts on Twitter.
“Since when did Nike care about ethics?” Brown tweeted hours after Knight’s comments were made. Brown was referring to Nike’s history of sweatshops and forced labours in Asia to make its products. Nike has been under public scrutiny for its exploitation of its workers. Brown calls out Nike's hypocrisy in the way they treated Irving.
Kyrie Irving’s signature endorsement agreement was set to expire on October 1st, 2023. The deal was terminated 11 months ahead of expiration after Irving’s insensitive comments. The details of the termination will be presented shortly, Nike hasn’t instructed NBA players to stop wearing Kyrie-branded shoes. In fact, Irving has been sporting a variety of Kyrie models in recent games. The Kyrie shoe is widely popular in the NBA, with 164 players that have worn the Kyrie 7s. Irving is officially on market as a sneaker-free agent. and can sign any brand of choice. Adding Irving to an existing sneaker brand provides instant credibility, Irving’s unique connectivity to youth culture, earned his sneaker line one of the industry's best-selling in the footwear business. Irving addressed his community after the news release on the split. Irving tweeted,
“Anyone who has [ever] spent their hard-earned money on anything I have ever released, I consider you FAMILY and we are forever connected.” "It's time to show how powerful we are as a community."