The Chicago Bulls made a decisive move Monday, waiving guard Jaden Ivey for “conduct detrimental to the team” after a series of Instagram videos in which he made anti-LGBTQ remarks and comments about religion.
Jaden Ivey calls out the NBA for celebrating Pride Month
“The world proclaims LGBTQ, right? They proclaim Pride Month—and the NBA does too. They show it to the world. They say, ‘Come join us for Pride Month, to celebrate unrighteousness.’”
(@esidery)
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 30, 2026
The decision came just days after the Bulls had already ruled Ivey out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Ivey had only recently arrived in Chicago in a February trade and appeared in just four games for the Bulls before being sidelined, which meant his brief tenure with the team ended not because of basketball, but because of what he said publicly. The Bulls’ move as a response to the content of his livestreams, not his on-court situation.
What pushed the episode beyond a routine controversy was how it kept unfolding. After being waived, Ivey went live again and argued that the Bulls’ explanation did not make sense because he had not recently been around the team while rehabbing.
Jaden Ivey with a concerning message on his IG live:
“The NBA was everything to me. I didn’t know god. When I came to the NBA I was a fornicator, I was a p*rn addict and I use to get drunk. That’s all I knew. After all those points I felt good… I felt like everything was set… pic.twitter.com/mcFqI9qlMj
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) March 31, 2026
He then continued posting, and later broadcasts included criticism of Stephen Curry’s faith, widening the fallout from an incident that had already become one of the day’s most unsettling NBA storylines.
Jaden Ivey calls out Steph Curry 😳
“He don’t know Jesus… I pray he’s saved in Jesus name… All that stuff isn’t gon matter on Judgement Day. All them rings he got. All them rings LeBron got. All them rings Jordan got… They gon try to stop me, but I’m not. I’ma keep… pic.twitter.com/le7DbEVgKG
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) March 31, 2026
Chicago’s response made clear that the organization viewed the matter as bigger than one player’s personal beliefs. Before the Bulls’ game in San Antonio, coach Billy Donovan emphasized professionalism, respect and accountability, saying the team includes people from “all different walks of life” and that those standards matter inside the organization.
For Ivey, the moment is a sharp and damaging turn in what had once looked like a promising NBA career. He was the fifth pick in the 2022 draft, arrived in the league with real speed and scoring potential, and was still only 24. But by Monday night, the conversation had shifted entirely away from development or upside and toward conduct, judgment and whether another team will want to absorb the risk that now comes with him.
