The lack of accountability Kyrie Irving has shown for propping up antisemitic propaganda on social media has cost him a whole lot — quite literally.
Obviously, Irving has been suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for the next 5 games because of his initial refusal to apologize for the harm he caused for people. He did eventually apologize, but by then the harm had already been done. And his actions didn’t necessarily back it up, either.
Now, he’s got a lot of making up to do with a lot of people. And part of that group now includes Nike.
The company announced it “suspended” Irving’s signature shoe deal on Friday evening and won’t release his new signature “Kyrie 8” sneaker in the wake of Irving’s behavior.
So what does this mean for the future of Kyrie with Nike? Let’s dive into it.
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Wait, Kyrie's Nike deal is suspended?
Yes, according to a statement from the company. CNBC’s Sara Eisen shared the statement on Friday evening.
Breaking: Nike suspends Kyrie relationship. Postpones launch of Kyrie 8. (Kyrie is in the top 5 best sellers for Nike, but nowhere near Jordan, Lebron etc) pic.twitter.com/ssrmkGnoBA
— Sara Eisen (@SaraEisen) November 5, 2022
“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 saddended and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone.”
There you have it.
Wait, so what does that mean?
To put it in simple terms, Nike is putting a pause on its relationship with Kyrie Irving.
It’s essentially the same thing the Nets are doing. It’s unclear how long this suspension will actually last with Nike and whether they’ll ever bounce back from this. But, for right now, he’s being treated as if he’s not a Nike athlete.
So his signature shoe line is over?
It’s on pause — for now. Irving’s new Kyrie 8 was slated to drop to the public soon. Irving has been seen playing in them but they haven’t had a public release yet.
Update: Kyrie says on Instagram that these will be called the Nike Kyrie 8.
(Last year’s model was re-named to the “Kyrie Infinity”) https://t.co/oY2VCuVaKI
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) August 17, 2022
Now, we probably aren’t going to get them.
Alright, so his signature line might be over. But is this the end of Kyrie at Nike?
It certainly feels like it. Irving’s relationship with the brand has been fraught with tension over the last couple of years.
It started with Irving slamming Nike last season over the Kyrie Infinity (which was actually previously the Kyrie 8). He had some sort of issue with the shoe and said he didn’t want to be part of its rollout. The shoe did release and Irving did wear it, but it was renamed the “Kyrie Infinity” instead of the Kyrie 8.
But that tension never really went away.
What do you mean the tension never went away?
Irving’s future at Nike has been a big question for a while. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported earlier this year that Nike was “unlikely” to extend Irving beyond his current deal.
That deal is set to expire in nearly a calendar year on October 1, 2023, according to ESPN’s Nick DePaula.
Nike has suspended its deal with Kyrie Irving “effective immediately” and is scrapping the release of the Kyrie 8.
Deal was initially set to expire on October 1, 2023. Irving’s signature series had been one of the industry’s top selling lines in recent years. pic.twitter.com/Q9xg7eOkHl
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) November 5, 2022
Now that Irving is suspended, it seems that his deal with Nike might actually be over.
Could Irving ever come back to Nike again?
That remains to be seen and, honestly, is completely up to Nike.
Maybe if Irving changes course here and becomes less of a lightning rod things could change between the two sides. But as things currently stand, this really feels like the end of an era.
Irving had one of Nike’s best-selling shoes and it’s always had some of the brand’s most creative basketball designs. It’s sad to see things potentially end this way.
But when you do the things Irving has done, there are consequences. And this is Irving having to deal with that.
It is what it is.
