Bulls Waive Guard Jaden Ivey After Making Anti-LGBTQ Comments, Coach Worries About His Mental Health

The Chicago Bulls have decided to move on from Jaden Ivey due to his recent behavior and comments on his Instagram lives.

The guard has been posting lengthy videos about religion, and most notably made anti-LGBTQ comments during his videos.

“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.”

“They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it in the streets. Unrighteousness,” Ivey said, referring to the LGBTQ+ community.

Ivey, 24, went back to his Instagram following his release and shared his thoughts.

“How is my conduct detrimental to the team? Because of what I believe? Because of what the truth is?”

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan spoke to the media about Ivey and the importance of mental health.

“I think in this day and age, you have to be conscious of all these guys may be going through things.”

“And I’m not passing judgment on what Jaden is or is not going through,” Donovan continued. “But I do worry about that, not only for Jaden, but for all of our players. Are we providing the resources, which I think we do, to help them in any way we can? I think if any player reached out and said I need some help in this, we could help them.”

Ivey was drafted in the 2022 NBA Draft with the 5th overall pick by the Detroit Pistons before being dealt to the Bulls at this year’s trade deadline.