One of the best parts about the 2010s was corporate America explicitly pursuing woke agendas for profit. In that decade, corporate image campaigns were launched for Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Pride and on and on. Corporate America wanted to look woke, tolerant and inclusive. While some of that has been chipped away in the Trump-fascist era, basically every professional sport (and even many amateur leagues) host Pride nights or Pride weeks/months. While I’m sure that much of it is simply about profit, it’s also authentic for many leagues and sports fans, who want everyone to be welcome at games and matches. Well, the Chicago Bulls are like many NBA teams, in that they do a lot to support Pride. One of their players took issue with that though. Jaden Ivey went off on social media about how the Bulls shouldn’t celebrate Pride Month. The Bulls cut him from the team!
The Chicago Bulls have parted ways with Jaden Ivey after the athlete made anti-LGBTQ comments on social media.
“The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has waived guard Jaden Ivey due to conduct detrimental to the team,” the NBA team said in a statement posted to its Instagram account on Monday, March 30.
The announcement came hours after the 24-year-old shooting guard shared footage to his own Instagram account, speaking out against the league for celebrating Pride Month. Approximately two hours after the Bulls informed the public of his release, Ivey went on Instagram Live to address the decision.
“How is my conduct detrimental to the team? Because of what I believe? Because of what the truth is?” Ivey said in the video, later posting it to his page.
In his 42-minute initial Instagram video, Ivey is seen addressing his audience while looking down at the camera in his lap.
“Blessed morning,” Ivey, whose social media bio reads, “Jesus saved my life 🙌🏾 Giving your life to Jesus is the greatest decision you can do 🙌🏾,” began.
“The world can proclaim LGBTQ, right?” Ivey, who has also discussed dealing with depression in the past, per USA Today, said later in the video. “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.”
Ivey continued to speak out about the NBA supporting Pride Month with celebrations, adding, “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?”
Also on Monday, Jared Weiss, a staff writer for The Athletic, shared footage on X of Bulls’ head coach Billy Donovan discussing mental health amid Ivey’s comments.
“I think in this day and age, you have to be conscientious of all these guys may be going through things,” Donovan, 60, said while addressing the media at a press conference. “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.”
Equating homophobic bigotry to needing mental health resources… well, it’s interesting. It’s pretty clear to me that this guy just thought he could be an “out and proud” homophobe and no one would call him out or make him face any consequences. This is one of the reasons why I haven’t been terrified of the Trump era “you don’t have to be woke anymore” bullsh-t. Because many people – including many in corporate America – have already seen the benefits of at least paying lip service to inclusivity and tolerance. The Chicago Bulls don’t want to see their team get Target’d (Target went hard anti-woke and they’ve lost billions and run through several executives).
BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are waiving Jaden Ivey after he spoke out against the NBA for promoting 'Pride Month' and unrighteousness, according to ESPN.
Ivey recently announced that he was alive in Christ.
"They proclaim Pride Month in the NBA. They show it to the world. They… pic.twitter.com/1kxiL36ygn
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 30, 2026
Photos courtesy of Jaden Ivey’s Instagram.
What’s up with this Jesus wants me to be a bigot crap?
My theory is that it all comes down to identity politics. It gives people a sense of power or importance to proclaim themselves as the righteous one, which means others have to be labeled as not righteous.
He’ll get plenty of support for it, too. Such a sad state of affairs.
Because it’s actually written in the bible. It’s why I am a lapsed catholic.
I wonder if the Heritage Foundation will now start its own basketball league, to only be shown on that network Candace Bure releases movies on. I’m sure they can hold open tryouts to play with Ivey from all walks of MAGA life.
I spit coffee on that comment… bahahaaaaaa!!!
Same!! This comment thread already has a winner!🥇
Time and time again the saying holds true…”There’s no kind of hate like Christian love.”
Also, a 42-minute IG video???? Ain’t no one got that kinda time.
42 minute video???
Right???
Watching that video, I get why the coach was talking about mental health issues.
He previously insulted Catholics so team warned him similar behavior would result in discipline
As refresh keeps wiping out my posts before I submit so I’m doing this in parts
Ivey had surgery in the offseason while a Detroit Piston. Detroit traded him in January to Chicago where he played 4 games before breaking his leg. Rumors are his recovery was not going well.
Chicago has several healthy players at the same position so he was likely to be cut at the end of the season, which is next week. There have also been rumors of mental health struggles from his time in Detroit and it apparently is affecting his participation in his training & rehab
Collin Rugg is a MAGA pundit who loves to tell his MAGA minions they are victims of wokeness.
Latching onto the Ivey case only highlights how ignorant his MAGA minions are of the NBA and the EEOA and labor laws
We attended the Celtics PRIDE night last week and it was awesome. The Garden was festooned with gorgeous rainbow balloon displays inside and out. A giant PRIDE photo area was set up in front of the windows with a backdrop of the Zakim and Russell bridges and the harbor. Families were lined up for pictures before, during & after the game. LGBTQ Celtics employees got to tell their stories. Halftime featured a disco dance party. Fun, happy, and joyously colorful and nobody was complaining.
I’m an atheist with an evangelical background. What has never (NEVER) made sense to me is how much “Christian” people put so much more faith in the words of Paul than in the words of Jesus. Paul was a bigoted d**k. Jesus (according to the New Testament) never said a word about homosexuality or, really, most of the opinions attributed to him. That was the Johnny-come-lately named Paul.
Jaden Ivey went to Purdue, which is my alma mater, and I don’t remember him being super religious or having loud views about things.
Additionally his mother went to Catholic high school here in St. Louis and Notre Dame and is now the coach at Notre Dame so it’s weird that he’s very anti-Catholic?
Some people are just bigots but given this odd behavior I think he’s delusional and if that’s so, I hope he gets the help he needs.
In the meantime, have several seats.
And yet you see all these self righteous types getting arrested everyday for being pedos. Why can’t people keep s**t to themselves. What’s the urge to post about it?