Christian extremists and other far-right evangelicals are trying to turn an NBA bench-rider into a cause célèbre after his bigoted ramblings earned him a pink slip.
Basketball fans know former lottery pick Jaden Ivey’s stock had plummeted long before his recent, bizarre and occasionally public rants rebuking LGBTQ people and the NBA for its support of them, such as when he accused the league of celebrating “unrighteousness” in an Instagram video. Ivey had filmed himself rambling on an airplane and accusing league stars such as LeBron James and Steph Curry of being insufficiently religious. He also called Catholicism a “false religion” on social media.
On Monday, the Chicago Bulls announced that the team had released Ivey, and it’s not really a mystery why. A guard with limited shooting ability who relies heavily on his athleticism, Ivey had already been sidelined by injury for the season. His contract ends when the season does, and the only reason he was even on the roster was because the team that drafted him, the Detroit Pistons, chose to trade him this year rather than sign him to a contract extension.
But a bunch of MAGA evangelicals, such as Christian nationalist Sean Feucht, leaped on the news as if it were indicative of anti-Christian bias.
But there was more where that came from.
I hope Jaden Ivey sues the Bulls. He’s being waived because he’s a Christian.
This is ridiculous. https://t.co/arR8GpwIyB
The Chicago Bulls fired a man for being a follower of Jesus. Jaden Ivey refused to pledge allegiance to the rainbow flag and he paid a price. #persecution
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) March 31, 2026
Much like years ago when MAGA praised NBA forward — and Prager U presenter — Jonathan Isaac for denouncing demonstrations against police violence during the national anthem, the Ivey kerfuffle shows how eager the MAGA movement is to score political points off the NBA and its players.
In this case, such efforts couldn’t be more out of bounds. The only discrimination at play in this situation is what Ivey expressed toward LGBTQ+ people and the Catholic religion. It’s hardly anti-Christian bias for a team to part ways with a bench player on the brink of free agency after he goes on bigoted rants that seem more worthy of a wellness check than Bible-thumping.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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