Nike suspends partnership with Kyrie Irving / News - Basketnews.com

Sportswear giant says it won't release the Kyrie 8 sneaker, one of its flagship products.

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

Nike paused its partnership with Kyrie Irving on Friday after a week in which the Brooklyn Nets star guard promoted a book and movie that contain antisemitic material.

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The shoe giant had been set to release a new Irving-branded product, the Kyrie 8.

"At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism," the announcement reads. "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 saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone."

Irving has been in partnership with Nike since 2014. However, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported in May that Nike was unlikely to extend Irving a signature shoe deal beyond 2023 due to "uncertainties surrounding his NBA future."

The two sides haven't always been on the best terms. According to USA Today, in July 2021, Irving called photos of the in-development Kyrie 8 "trash," adding, "Nike plans to release it without my OK regardless of what I say, so I apologize in advance to all of my sneakerheads and true supporters of the KAI11 brand."

The Nets announced Thursday that they had suspended Irving for at least five games after he "refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs" while speaking with the media earlier in the day.

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