Basketball is one of the most followed sports in the USA. Just like European countries have a craze for football, Basketball, too, has a fanbase of millions of people. With such a craze, several brands often chose to bank upon this factor and opt to make sportspersons–the brand ambassadors of their brand. However, in the latest development, popular brand ‘Nike’ said on Monday that Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is no longer affiliated with the athletic wear giant.

Here is why the brand opted for such a move. 

The news of Irving no longer being allowed to promote ‘Nike’ was first reported on Twitter by Shams Charania, senior lead NBA insider for The Athletic and Stadium. With this move, Nike will not launch Kyrie 8 signature shoe.

It is being speculated that this development has swept in after the basketball profession received severe public backlash on his social media post about “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake up Black America”. He, as reported by Footwear News, “repeatedly refused to denounce antisemitism in the days following the post, and only apologized after he was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for at least five games.”

Nike also issued an official statement on this development. 

The official statement by Nike

“At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism. 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,” Nike said in a statement released on November 4. 

This development comes days after popular brand ‘Adidas’ cut ties with popular American rapper Kanye West for his antisemitic rants.