The Bulls traded for Jaden Ivey last month, but his Instagram rant about Pride Night ended his time with the team before it really began

The Chicago Bulls have cut ties with Jaden Ivey, the NBA player they acquired just last month, after he posted anti-LGBTQ comments and criticized Pride Night events in videos on social media. His time with the team ended almost as soon as it began.

According to TMZ Sports, the decision came after the 24-year-old shared long videos on Instagram over a recent weekend. In the posts, he spoke out against the NBA’s support of the LGBTQ community through its Pride Night events, making his views very clear.

On one Instagram video, Ivey directly challenged the league, saying, “The world can proclaim LGBTQ, right? They proclaim Pride Month and the NBA. They say, ‘Come join us for Pride Month to celebrate unrighteousness.'” He added, “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?”

Ivey’s social media posts created a pattern that the Bulls could not ignore

This was not the first time Ivey had made controversial statements online. He had reportedly hosted several livestreams recently, going on long tangents about religion and even calling Catholicism a “false religion.” Instagram has seen no shortage of viral controversies lately, and a massive data leak affecting Instagram users has also been making headlines around the same time.

The Bulls announced their decision to waive Ivey, just hours after his latest livestream, reportedly his third in about a week. Before the controversy, Ivey, the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, was averaging 11.5 points and 4 assists per game. His season had already been paused due to left knee pain.

After the announcement, some fans questioned the move, with one commenting, “What happens to freedom of speech. This is still America, right?” Social media has become a space where public figures often face intense scrutiny, much like when Drew Barrymore’s chaotic cooking video went viral and sparked widespread debate online.

Ivey responded the same night on Instagram Live, calling the Bulls “liars” while appearing to board a flight. “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,” he said.

He also called out other NBA players, appearing to question Steph Curry’s faith, saying, “He don’t know Jesus and I pray he comes to the truth.” He then added, “All that stuff isn’t going to matter on Judgement Day. All them rings he got. All them rings LeBron [James] got. All them rings Michael Jordan got.”

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan addressed the decision, stating, “there’s a certain level of standards and expectations that are here.” He added, “We have people from all different walks of life working in the building and players from all different walks of life. We’ve got to all be professional. 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.”