Kyrie Irving’s relationship with Nike is officially over, a month after the company suspended the Brooklyn guard as part of the fallout over his tweeting a link to a film containing anti-semitic material.
It was not a surprise breakup, especially after Nike co-founder Phil Knight said in the days after the company suspended Irving he had doubts there would be any reconciliation.
“Kyrie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete,” the company said in a statement on Monday.
Irving’s agent and stepmother, Shetellia Riley Irving, told The New York Times the sides “mutually decided to part ways and we just wish Nike all the best”.
Irving, without mentioning Nike by name, appeared to address the matter on his Twitter account on Monday afternoon.
“Anyone who has ever spent their hard earned money on anything I have ever released, I consider you FAMILY and we are forever connected,” the Nets guard wrote.
“It’s time to show how powerful we are as a community.”
Irving has been wearing his signature line of Nike in recent games. It’s unknown if the formal ending of his relationship with Nike will affect that.
He has been linked with the company for the entirety of his NBA career, starting in 2011, and launched his first signature shoe in 2014.
Read the article in The West Australian.