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Anti-Semitism: Nike Suspend Ties with Kyrie Irving

And the consequences continue for Kyrie Irving.


A day after he was suspended at least five games without pay by the Brooklyn Nets, sports apparel giant Nike announced it was suspending its relationship with Irving effective immediately and canceling the launch of his Kyrie 8 signature shoe.


“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,” the statement says. “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.”

Though the 30-year old apologized late Thursday night for posting the video, which contained a litany of antisemitic conspiracy theories and falsehoods, including a fabricated quote from Adolf Hitler. But, it was apparently too little, too late for Nike.


How much does Kyrie gets to lose from the Nike Ouster?

Irving was already set to lose roughly $2.2 million in salary from his unpaid suspension. Losing his Nike deal should be much more costly.


Per Sportico, Irving was paid $11 million last season from his deal with Nike, and his shoe has been one of the top 5 best selling signature shoes for the company, though his deal is only a fraction of what big names like Michael Jordan and LeBron James are getting these days.


Sportico also noted Irving's shoe was also among the most popular shoes for NBA players to wear during games.


Irving has been suspended by the Nets indefinitely and at least for five games after posts to his social media accounts about the 2018 film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” that is based on a 2015 book of the same name.


Both the film and book are filled with Antisemitic tropes, including false assertions that “many famous high-ranking Jews” have “admitted” to “worship[ing] Satan or Lucifer.”

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