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Kyrie Irving will start his first full season as a member of the Dallas Mavericks this fall. For those who may be tardy to the party, Irving was traded to Dallas by the Brooklyn Nets in February after three and a half years.
Irving not only got a new team, but a new sneaker as well. In July he announced a new partnership with rising Chinese footwear brand, Anta, who also endorses other star Athletes such as Golden State Warriors star, Klay Thompson. But former Boston Celtics big man Enes Kanter Freedom says Irving signing with Anta goes against everything that he stands for.
“This guy literally didn’t take the vaccine. Even if I lose what? Hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s courageous. Then you sign a shoe deal with Anta,” Kanter said via Outkick.
“Everybody knows about the slave labor and sweatshops. You’re signing a deal with the biggest dictatorship in the world.”
The most tumultuous part of Irving’s Nets tenure is highlighted by the 2021-22 season. After a New York City mandate required the Nets star to be vaccinated for COVID-19, he refused and was benched by the Nets for the first half of the season. Injuries forced the franchise’s hand and he was reinstated in February but was still only able to participate in home games until mandate was lifted that March.
Kyrie and Nike Had Bitter Split
Irving’s rise to stardom on the Nike brand escalated quickly. He was drafted in June 2011, and by December 2014, he already had a signature sneaker. The Kyrie series became one of Nike’s most popular signature lines, rivaled only by his one-time Cleveland Cavaliers teammate, LeBron James. But things became ugly between the two sides in 2021 when they clashed over the design of the Kyrie 8, which caused the seven-time All-Star to lash out against the company on social media.
There was already a sense of doubt that Nike would renew Irving’s deal which was set to expire this year. And when Kyrie tweeted out the link to an anti-Semitic film in October, which was met with negative backlash, Nike suspended him, which ultimately led to them terminating the relationship.
Irving confirmed the split with a parting shot at his former endorser in a game against the Charlotte Hornets last December when he sported a pair of the Nike Kyrie 3, with the Nike logo covered in black tape with a clear message, “I AM FREE. Thank you, God, … I am.”
Nike Founder: “Kyrie Stepped Over the Line”
Although the All-Star point guard eventually apologized for his decision to share the link, it was not in a timely enough fashion, as different forms of backlash followed as a result of his decision including a suspension by the Nets.
The sneaker giant was supposed to release Irving’s eighth signature sneaker last fall, which would have been the final installment of his contract. But on November 4, Nike suspended Irving stating that he “stepped over the line” by sharing the link.
“Kyrie stepped over the line. It’s kind of that simple, so he made some statements that we just can’t abide by, and that’s why we ended the relationship. And yeah, I was fine with that,” Nike co-founder Phil Knight said during an appearance on MSNBC in November.
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