Nike suspends relationship with Kyrie Irving as the dominoes start to fall

New York, New York - Sportswear giant Nike has announced that they will be suspending their relationship with Brooklyn Nets star athlete Kyrie Irving after he posted a link to a film that is widely recognized as antisemitic and struggled to issue a timely, sound apology.

Nike severed ties with NBA athlete Kyrie Irving.
Nike severed ties with NBA athlete Kyrie Irving.  © Collage: ELSA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP / Unsplash / @takeshi2

"At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism," the company said in their statement.

"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 [Irving's next signature sneaker]. We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone."

Irving is currently serving a five-game suspension from the Nets due to his handling of the situation with the press and the fact he did not "acknowledge specific hateful material in the film."

Nike is the first major domino to fall in terms of suspending their partnership with Irving and there may be more to come.

Cover photo: Collage: ELSA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP / Unsplash / @takeshi2

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