The Chicago Bulls waived Jaden Ivey on March 30 following the guard’s criticism of NBA Pride nights.
In a post on X, the NBA team said it waived Ivey for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
Ivey had earlier taken to Instagram to voice his objections to the league’s celebration of the LGBT community during Pride Month, which is observed each June.
“The world can proclaim LGBTQ, right? They proclaim Pride Month in the NBA,” he said in the 42-minute video. “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?”
Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan addressed the situation before Chicago’s March 30 game against the San Antonio Spurs, emphasizing professionalism and mutual respect.
“Everybody comes with their own personal experiences, but one is, we’ve got to all be professional,” he said.
“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.”
Donovan addressed the issue of mental health, as Ivey has been going through depression.
“I think in this day and age, you have to be conscientious of 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.”
Following his release, Ivey criticized the organization’s decision in a separate social media post, disputing the claim that his behavior negatively impacted the team and defending his actions as an expression of his faith.
“They’re liars, bro. This is lying,” Ivey said in a video posted on his Instagram.
“They’re lying saying my conduct is detrimental to the team. 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.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the Bulls for comment.
The Bulls acquired Ivey from the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 3 as part of a three-team trade. Ivey appeared in just four games for the Bulls before being shut down for the rest of the season due to a knee injury. His contract was set to expire after this season, making him a free agent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
