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Jaylen Brown Blasts Nike After Kyrie Irving Statement
In a statement from Nike, it was made clear that they are unlikely to work with Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving again.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight stated in an interview with CNBC that "Kyrie stepped over the line. It's kinda that simple. He made some statements that we just can't abide by, and that's where we ended the relationship. I was fine with that."
Knight continued, saying, "We look very hard at who we sign and how much we pay. We look not only how good the athlete is, but what his or her character are. It's not an exact science, but it's a process that we go through with a lot of intensity and a lot of people sticking their head in it. It goes all the way to the CEO, because some of the numbers they paid are pretty big."
Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown believes these comments are hypocritical, posting a Tweet on Thursday afternoon that questioned when Nike began caring about ethics.
This is not the first time that Brown has defended Irving amidst this latest controversy, recently stating in an interview with Boston Globe Sports that "He made a mistake. He posted something. There was no distinction. Maybe we can move forward, but the terms in which he has to fulfill to return, I think not just speaking for me, speaking as a vice president from a lot of our players, we didn’t agree with the terms that was required for him to come back... The terms for his return, they seem like a lot and a lot of the players expressed discomfort with the terms."
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