In February of this year, the Chicago Bulls acquired guard Jaden Ivey from the Detroit Pistons as part of a three-team deal between the Bulls, Pistons, and Minnesota Timberwolves.
In March, the Bulls and Ivey, who was an NBA first-round, fifth overall draft pick in 2022, parted ways due to “conduct detrimental to the team.”
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 30, 2026
What could he have possibly done to cause such a thing? The way the Bulls’ statement sounds, you’d think he threatened or harmed his teammates, but what he actually did was talk about his religious beliefs.
Over the last week, Ivey has been going live on Instagram, talking about his religious beliefs. He’s a Christian, and he has strong feelings about the whole LGBTetc. agenda. Or, as ESPN put it, he expressed “anti-gay sentiments.”
I didn’t hear Ivey’s entire video, but there’s a difference between being “anti-gay” and anti-LGBTetc. agenda, so I hope ESPN is not overstating that. But it’s woke ESPN, so it probably is. I know many, many gay people who are anti-LGBTetc. agenda, but I digress.
Apparently, his biggest crime was calling out the NBA for celebrating Pride Month, calling it “unrighteousness.”
“The world proclaims LGBTQ, right?” he said during one of his livestreams on Monday. “They proclaim Pride Month and the NBA does, too. They show it to the world. They say, ‘Come join us for Pride Month to celebrate unrighteousness.’ They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it on the streets. Unrighteousness.”
After the Bulls waived him, the 24-year-old took to Instagram again to question why: “[The Bulls] said my conduct is detrimental to the team. Why didn’t they just say, ‘We don’t agree with his stance on LGBTQ’? Why didn’t they say that? … How is it conduct detrimental to the team? What did I do to the team? What did I do to the players?”
Good question. Either the Bulls’ locker room is made up of a bunch of weak-minded homosexuals who were terribly offended and felt threatened by this guy, or the NBA has become so woke that it’s killing itself by prioritizing social justice over actual sports. (Hint: I can’t name a single Chicago Bulls player at the moment, but I can assure you that it’s the latter.)
According to ESPN, Ivey was benched for the first time in his career on February 19, and afterwards, he told reporters, “I’m not the J.I. I used to be. The old J.I. is dead. I’m alive in Christ no matter what the basketball setting is.”
The media outlet also reports that “Ivey was outspoken about his religious beliefs in Detroit, but his intensity ratcheted up during his tenure in Chicago, which agitated some team staff members who described Ivey as ‘preachy’ around the locker room,” though it doesn’t have an actual source for that. Just anonymous ones. Also, if being annoying in a locker room is a fireable offense, I can’t imagine there’d be that many athletes on teams at all.
In an attempt to make him sound crazy, ESPN also says that his social media livestreams covered numerous topics, “including his own bouts of depression, finding religion, ‘wicked’ music lyrics, anti-Catholicism, abortion and asides about his love for apple pie.”
Sounds like a lot of young people’s social media to me. It also notes that Ivey’s mom is Niele Ivey, the women’s basketball head coach at Notre Dame.
“There’s a certain level of expectations and standards that are here,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told reporters on Monday night. “Everybody comes with their own personal experiences, right? But we have to all be professional, there has to be a high level of respect for one another, and we’ve got to help each other and be accountable to those standards.”
Ivey has received an outpouring of support from other Christian athletes, and many fans have pointed out that the NBA allows players like Miles Bridges, a forward for the Charlotte Hornets, to remain in the league with a slap on the wrist, despite the fact that he was charged with felony domestic violence in 2022 and served three years of probation. And then there are people like coach Steve Kerr, who called law enforcement officers “murderers” after Renee Good’s death in Minnesota earlier this year.
One of those people supporting Ivey is 23-year-old New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson is also an outspoken Christian, and some media outlets are reporting that he went on a “rant” after learning about Ivey being cut by the Bulls. What he actually did was post several Bible verses. I guess that’s considered a “rant” by the MSM.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:10 https://t.co/CTpkaMx0oT— TreVeyon Henderson (@TreVeyonH4) March 31, 2026
“For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”
2 Timothy 4:3-4— TreVeyon Henderson (@TreVeyonH4) March 31, 2026
The world said this about Jesus.
“Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?”
John 10:20God The Father said this to Jesus.
“Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”…— TreVeyon Henderson (@TreVeyonH4) March 31, 2026
Anyway, it’s possible that there’s more to the story, and bashing the company you work for isn’t the brightest move, but right now, it appears as if the Bulls waived a guy over his religious beliefs, and that’s not a great look for the already declining NBA.
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