The Chicago Bulls have waived guard Jaden Ivey following anti-LGBTQ comments and remarks about religion he made in videos on his Instagram account.
The team announced the decision on Monday, with coach Billy Donovan stating that Ivey’s comments do not reflect the values of the organization.
“They proclaim Pride Month in the NBA,” Ivey said in one of the videos. “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?”
Donovan said the Bulls have employees from “all different walks of life” and emphasized the importance of professionalism and respect. “Everybody comes with their own personal experiences, but one is we’ve got to all be professional,” Donovan said prior to 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.”
In an Instagram live conducted on an airplane hours after the Bulls let him go, Ivey again spoke at length about religion. He said the championship rings LeBron James and Michael Jordan earned are “not gonna matter on judgment day.” He also insisted he “didn’t get myself waived” and that other teams won’t sign him because they think “he’s too religious.” He said he was in the gym, rehabbing and “doing what was required of me in my job” on Monday.
At one point, a flight attendant asked him to end the session because the plane was about ready to depart, but he continued to discuss religion for about another minute before wrapping it up. Ivey has spoken this season about dealing with depression and recently started posting lengthy videos expressing his thoughts about religion on Instagram.
Chicago acquired Ivey from Detroit in a three-team trade on February 3. He had an expiring contract. The Bulls shut him down for the remainder of the season last week after he had been sidelined since February 11 with a sore left knee. He averaged 8.5 points in 37 games this season, including four for Chicago.
“I don’t want to get into what he put out there, but certainly, I hope for him he’s okay,” Donovan said. “I’ve had conversations with Jaden and he’s always been about rehabbing his knee and trying to get on the court and wanting to play. But I think organizationally, there are certain standards we want to have as an organization and try to live up to those each and every day.”
