Head coach Billy Donovan spoke to the media and gave his full perspective on why the Chicago Bulls waived young guard Jaden Ivey today. Controversial social media posts targeting the LGBTQ community and the NBA’s celebration of Pride Month made Ivey a trending topic this afternoon for the wrong reasons. The Bulls wasted no time and decided to part ways with him this evening for the controversial comments.
Donovan shared the following with the media before tonight’s Bulls game against the San Antonio Spurs:
“We’ve got people from all different backgrounds inside of the organization. This goes for players and coaches and everybody in that building. It’s always been from the top, we’re all going to work well together. We are all going to take care of and accept each other. We’re going to be hard-working, accountable, respectful and professional.
I know some of the things that were put out there. I think it’s a situation for him where it’s on his own personal Instagram. I don’t want to get into what he put out there but certainly I hope for him, he’s okay. Organizationally, there’s certain standards I think we want to have as an organization and live up to those each and every day.”
Donovan confirmed that the team felt Ivey wasn’t being professional or respectful to others with his comments. The NBA has a strong stance against anyone in the league sharing bigotry. Chicago got ahead of the issue by washing their hands of Ivey quickly.
How Jaden Ivey Ruined A Major Bulls Trade
Chicago made smaller moves at the trade deadline in hopes of finding some new young talents to build around. The Detroit Pistons sent Ivey to the Bulls in exchange for the more proven Kevin Huerter to improve their three-point shooting.
Hopes of Ivey developing saw Chicago investing in a talented 24-year-old guard with upside getting more playing time. However, the comments putting the team in the news for an anti-gay comment was enough of a strike to cut all ties today.
Detroit will have Huerter in their rotation for the playoffs, and the Bulls now lose the player they expected to build around. Ivey forced Chicago’s hand and caused them to give up on his potential in favor of standing true to their values.
Will Jaden Ivey Get Another NBA Chance?
The comments from Ivey will likely not be supported by anyone else around the league since it sparked homophobic topics. Troubling social media posts as a whole made fans start questioning if Ivey was okay.
No NBA team will sign Ivey until he fully apologizes and backtracks from his statements. The commentary would cause a large percentage of fans to refuse to support him and question a team for signing him in today’s climate.
Not even teams looking for younger talent, like the Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings, would risk getting the backlash from their fan base. Ivey must repair this issue and prove that he’s no longer going to cause a team headaches this summer. Another team will likely give him a shot if he does this due to his young age.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bulls Coach Gives Public Explanation On Team Cutting Jaden Ivey appeared first on Heavy Sports.