Last week, Nike suspended its relationship with Kyrie Irving following the controversy surrounding his sharing of an antisemitic film and lack of apology for the pain it caused. Nike founder Phil Knight also spoke out about why he personally felt strongly about the decision. However, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown had a particularly strong reaction to Knight’s comments.
Knight appeared on CNBC on Thursday to discuss Nike’s relationship with Irving, saying that the Brooklyn Nets star “stepped over the line” with the way he handled himself.
“Kyrie stepped over the line, it’s kind of that simple,” says Nike co-founder Phil Knight. “He just made some statements we can’t abide by and that’s why we ended the relationship.” pic.twitter.com/VWWAEbsIku
— CNBC (@CNBC) November 10, 2022
“Kyrie stepped over the line, it’s kind of that simple,” said Knight. “He just made some statements we can’t abide by and that’s why we ended the relationship.”
It sounds like Nike won’t be working with Irving again in the future, though Knight left the door open.
“I would doubt that we go back” to working with Irving in the future, Knight said. “But I don’t know for sure.”
Marketwatch tweeted out an article about Knight’s comments and that caught the attention of Brown. The Celtics star who initially stood by Kanye West after he made antisemitic comments before ultimately cutting ties with Donda Sports took a shot at Knight and Nike’s ability to criticize others.
“Since when did Nike care about ethics?” asked Brown.
Since when did Nike care about ethics? https://t.co/f8t2eY994v
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) November 10, 2022
We’d say that you shouldn’t expect to see Brown wearing Nike anytime soon but he’s literally required to, so that’ll sure be awkward.
[Jaylen Brown, CNBC]
