By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Tuesday, March 31, 2026
The Chicago Bulls NBA team waived outspoken Christian guard Jaden Ivey on Monday “due to conduct detrimental to the team” after he called LGBT pride month a celebration of “unrighteousness.”
“The world can proclaim LGBTQ, right?” Ivey told his more than 200,000 followers in a livestream on Instagram on Monday morning. “They proclaim pride month. And the NBA, they proclaim it. 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.”
Ivey, who was selected as the 5th overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 2022 NBA Draft, has been vocal about his faith throughout his time in the league. Chicago traded for Ivey at February’s trade deadline. He had a contract that expired at the end of the season.
The waived guard only played four games for the Bulls before he was shut down last Thursday for the rest of the season by the team because of injury.
In a second video shared on Instagram on Monday, Ivey challenged the claim that the profession of his faith values has been detrimental to the team.
“[The Bulls] said my conduct is detrimental to the team,” he said. “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?”
Ivey, who previously shared that he was sexually abused as a child, also called Bulls officials “liars.”
“They’re lying saying my conduct is detrimental to the team. That’s a lie. Ask any one of them coaches in there, ‘Was I a good teammate?’ All I’m preaching about is Jesus Christ and they waived me. They say I’m crazy, right? I’m psycho,” he said. “I didn’t get myself waived. I was in the gym today. I was rehabbing, doing what was required of my job.”
Bulls coach Billy Donovan told The Associated Press that the team has employees from “all different walks of life,” and Ivey’s comments do not reflect the values of the organization.
“Everybody comes with their own personal experiences, but one is we’ve got to all be professional,” Donovan said. “I think there’s got to be a high level of respect for one another, and we’ve got to help each other and then be accountable to those standards.”
The waived player has received strong support from Christians who praised him for standing up for his faith.
New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson shared Matthew 5:10 in apparent support of Ivey.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” he noted on X, citing the Scripture.
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