By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Chicago Bulls announced that the team has waived guard Jaden Ivey due to conduct detrimental to the team. Monday’s team decision ends Ivey’s brief and turbulent tenure in Chicago after just four appearances in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season.
Per the press release: “The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has waived guard Jaden Ivey due to conduct detrimental to the team.”
This followed a series of inflammatory social media posts. According to ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania, the Bulls opted to release Ivey following his recent anti-LGBTQ comments amid several rants on religion and other topics.
During a Monday morning Instagram Live session, broadcast to his more than 200,000 followers, the 24-year-old combo guard criticized the NBA’s advocacy for the LGBTQ community and Pride Month. “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 in the streets. Unrighteousness,” he mentioned.
While the league itself has not issued an official comment regarding the release or the remarks, Bulls coach Billy Donovan addressed the situation before Monday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. “I think there’s a certain level of standards and expectations that are here,” said the 60-year-old tactician. “I mean, we have people from all different walks of life working in the building and players from all different walks of life, right? So, the first thing is, everybody comes with their own personal experiences. But one is, we’ve got to all be professional. I think 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.”
Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic reported that Monday’s comments were the final straw for the franchise, which had been working on an exit strategy, per Joel Cowley of The Chicago-Sun Times. Ivey, however, has remained defiant. After being waived, he accused the organization of lying in a subsequent livestream. “They’re lying saying my conduct is detrimental to the team,” Ivey told viewers. “All I’m preaching about is Jesus Christ and they waived me.”
On the court, the former fifth-overall draft pick struggled to regain his explosiveness following a broken fibula and subsequent knee surgeries, averaging just 8.5 points this season. By waiving Ivey, the Bulls forgo his restricted free agency. He will become an unrestricted free agent if he clears the waiver wire in the coming days.