Bulls guard Jaden Ivey leaves after anti-gay comments

The Chicago Bulls have waived guard Jaden Ivey after recent anti-gay comments amid numerous rants about religion and other issues.

The Chicago Bulls fired guard Jaden Ivey for team misconduct on Monday, hours after he posted a lengthy video on social media about religion and other topics that included homophobia.

Ivey has gone live on his Instagram account more often in the past week, posting at least three lengthy videos after he was shut down for the rest of the season by the team due to an injury last Thursday.On Monday morning, he called out the NBA for promoting Pride Month, saying it celebrates "injustice."

"The world declares LGBTQ, right?"Ivey said during the video broadcast.“They declare Pride Month, just like the NBA.They show it to the world.They say, "Come with us to Pride Month to celebrate injustice."They announce it on billboards.They announce it in the streets.Injustice."

In another live stream Monday night, Ivey asked why he was released before giving a lengthy speech about religion.

"[The Bulls] said my behavior was harmful to the team," he said.

The Bulls acquired Ivey, 24, from the Detroit Pistons at last month's trade deadline. He was drafted fifth overall in 2022 and drafted early by the rebuilding Pistons, but knee issues limited him to 30 games in 2024-25 and caused him to miss the first 15 games of the season. Ivey playedin just four games with the Bulls, he last appeared on February 11 before the All-Star break. The team announced last week that he would be sidelined for the season due to left knee pain.

On February 19 against the Raptors, Ivey did not play for the first time in his young career due to a coach's decision to have a healthy scratch.After that night's game, he spoke to reporters in the locker room, referring to his religion, saying he was "not the same player".

"I'm not J.I. I used to be. The old J.I is dead," Ivy said."I live in Christ, no matter what the basketball suit is."

Ivey was outspoken about his religious beliefs in Detroit, but the intensity skyrocketed during his time in Chicago, angering some team members who described Ivey as "preaching" in the locker room, ESPN sources said.His social media rants often last nearly an hour and delve into a variety of topics, including his own bouts of depression, the search for religion, "bad" lyrics, anti-Catholicism, abortion and comments about loving apple pie.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan told reporters before Monday night's game against the Spurs in San Antonio that the team hoped Ivey could be a part of its long-term future when it acquired him last month. But because Ivey did not come to an agreement on a contract extension with Detroit last summer, he will be a free agent heading into this offseason.

"There's a certain level of expectations and standards here," Donovan told reporters."Everyone brings their own personal experiences, right? But we all have to be professional, there has to be a high level of mutual respect, we have to help each other and be responsible for meeting those standards."

Eve is the son of Notre Dame women's basketball coach Neale Ivey.