Nike pulls Kyrie Irving shoe, suspends partnership over antisemitic film
The Kyrie 8 was expected to be released any day now. Instead, what has been a successful partnership for years is now on ice, a move that follows Nike rival Adidas’ divorce from longtime collaborator Kanye West, also known as Ye, over that star’s problematic behavior.
While Nike’s Kyrie series is not quite as lucrative as the Adidas Yeezy line was — Adidas is forgoing nearly $250 million in profits in this quarter alone — it’s a successful one. Nike didn’t immediately respond to questions about the sales impact of the shoe release cancellation.
Yet, unlike some of the brands working with Ye, including Adidas and Gap, Nike has moved swiftly and decisively, experts say. The brand hasn’t ended its relationship with Irving just yet. But the speed of Nike’s action and its wait-and-see attitude are both appropriate, according to Ross Steinman, a consumer psychologist and professor at Widener University.
The Anti-Defamation League has reached out to Irving, saying in a statement that “if Kyrie is open to direct dialogue to repair the harm that he has caused and to engage in a process of healing and learning in a sincere manner, ADL is open to engaging with him. Time and action will tell.”
That creates a moment where Irving could still repair the damage both to his own brand, and by extension Nike’s, Steinman said.
“There’s a lot hanging in the air right now. It’s very, very tense, very heavy. We’ve moved forward in a time where more and more people are socially conscious and the brands have followed suit,” he said by phone. “I do think if it’s accepted in a genuine way, there is an opportunity for Kyrie Irving to reconcile his professional basketball career, as well as the alignment with Nike, and at that point, I do think that consumers could follow.”
While Irving represents Nike’s brand, Amazon is further removed from the controversy, Steinman said. Still, Amazon also has a decision to make, according to Deb Gabor, CEO and founder of Sol Marketing. As a retailer, Amazon has previously pulled Nazi items from its marketplace. The ADL and the Brooklyn Nets team have reportedly asked leaders at Amazon to pull the movie or at least tag it with a disclaimer. This situation will entail Amazon deciding if it is “a platform for buying and selling everything from A to Z, including media, or truly a media company,” Gabor said by phone.
“They’re probably talking about, ‘OK, what is our role as an organization on this?’
I think they need to be zero. If you’re zero tolerance on one thing, you need to be zero tolerance on everything.”