NBA guard Jaden Ivey’s tenure with the Chicago Bulls was short-lived, lasting just four games before the team waived him on Monday, March 30, for what it called “conduct detrimental to the team” in a statement released on social media.
The Bulls were vague about the specific reasoning for dismissing Ivey, 24, but it came after the fourth-year pro went on an anti-LGBTQ+ rant via his own Instagram account, criticizing the NBA for celebrating Pride Month.
“The world can proclaim LGBTQ, right?” Ivey said on the Monday morning stream. “They proclaim Pride Month. And the NBA, they proclaim it. They show it to the world. They say, ‘Come join us for Pride Month, to celebrate unrighteousness.’ They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it in the streets. Unrighteousness.”
In the days before, Ivey shared live videos on two other occasions, arguing with followers and accusing “several of being sinners for their beliefs and lifestyles,” according to a story in the Chicago Tribune published Monday.
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In one Instagram comment, he wrote, “Catholicism is a false religion. And is not the true Doctrine of Christ. [It] does not lead to salvation in Jesus Christ.”
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan acknowledged the team cutting Ivey during a press conference before Chicago’s 129-114 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
“I think there’s a certain level of standards and expectations that are here,” he said. “I mean, we have people from all different walks of life working in the building and players from all different walks of life, right? So, the first thing is, everybody comes with their own personal experiences. But one is, we’ve got to all be professional. I think there’s got to be a high level of respect for one another, and we got to help each other and then be accountable to those standards.”
Donovan, 60, also addressed the team’s mental health resources.
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“I think in this day and age, you have to be conscientious of [what] all these guys may be going through things,” he said. “And I’m not passing judgment on what Jaden is or is not going through. But I do worry about that, not only for Jaden, but for all of our players. Are we providing the resources, which I think we do, to help them in any way we can? I think if any player reached out and said I need some help in this, we could help them.”
Ivey has since broken his silence as well, taking to Instagram once again to call the Bulls “liars” in another live stream.
“They’re lying saying my conduct is detrimental to the team,” he said. “That’s a lie. Ask any one of them coaches in there, ‘Was I a good teammate?’ All I’m preaching about is Jesus Christ and they waived me. They say I’m crazy, right? I’m psycho.”
He added, “I didn’t get myself waived. I was in the gym today. I was rehabbing, doing what was required of my job.”
