NBA
Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight Says Their Relationship With Kyrie Irving Is Likely Done
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated10 Nov 2022
In the past week and a half, Kyrie Irving reposted some controversial content on his personal social media accounts regarding antisemitism. This was not taken lightly by the Brooklyn Nets or the NBA. Now, Irving is on the verge of losing one of his biggest partners and companies that he’s been aligned with since he came into the league.
Though a final decision is yet to be made, the relationship between Irving and Nike is likely over according to the companies co-founder Phil Knight. Kyrie also met this week with Commissioner Silver to discuss the matter. Irving is known to speak his mind freely and have unique values and opinions. He may have gone too far this time.
NBA betting sites have the Nets at (+1400) to win the Finals
Nike’s co-founder Phil Knight says their relationship with Kyrie Irving is likely finished
“He made some statements that we just can't abide by, and that's why we ended the relationship. And, I was fine with that.”
(Via AP) pic.twitter.com/H1pgfULnll
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 10, 2022
Kyrie Irving and Nike expected to cut ties in near future
Nike announced last Friday that they had “suspended” their relationship with Irving and canceled the plans to release the next model of his shoe. Nike co-founder Phil Knight spoke to reporters and gave his thoughts on the whole ordeal.
“I would doubt that we go back,”… “But I don’t know for sure.” – Nike co-founder Phil Knight
“Kyrie stepped over the line,”… “It’s kind of that simple. He made some statements that we just can’t abide by and that’s why we ended the relationship. And I was fine with that.” – Phil Knight
Irving signed with Nike in 2011 and had a signature shoe come out in 2014. His annual endorsement deal with Nike is around $11 million.
Kyrie was also suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for at least five games without pay. He’s missed four games already and the fifth game will be this Saturday. However, Nets owner Joe Tsai put out a list of six tasks that Irving must complete before he could be reinstated with the team. NBA media personnel think the Tsai put these measures in place knowing that Irving would not complete them all and that it could lead to an outright release.
