The Chicago Bulls have waived guard Jaden Ivey after he posted a series of videos about religion and other topics that called the NBA out for celebrating Pride Month.
The Bulls announced the move on Monday, stating it was due to “conduct detrimental to the team”.
On Monday morning, Ivey called out the league, saying that it was “unrighteousness” that the NBA would celebrate Pride Month. According to Fox News, Ivey has posted similar rants in recent weeks and has been upfront about dealing with depression.
In one of the controversial videos, Ivey stated:"They proclaim Pride Month in the NBA. They proclaim it. They show it to the world. They say come join us for Pride, for Pride Month to celebrate unrighteousness. They proclaim it. They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it in the streets. Unrighteousness. So how is it that one can't speak righteousness? How are they to say that this man is crazy?"
In a separate video, Ivey said Catholicism was a "false religion," which could be seen as detrimental for Ivey’s mother, who is the head women’s basketball coach at Notre Dame, a Catholic university.
During a press conference, Bulls coach Billy Donovan addressed the situation, according to The Independent.
"Everybody comes with their own personal experiences, but one [thing] is we’ve got to all be professional," he said ahead of Chicago's game at San Antonio. “I think there’s got to be a high level of respect for one another, and we’ve got to help each other and then be accountable to those standards."
Ivey played just four games with the Bulls, averaging 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game before his release.