On Monday, March 30, the Chicago Bulls challenged an individual’s right to free speech when the NBA team terminated guard Jaden Ivey’s contract and employment for exhibiting his Christian beliefs, calling his action “detrimental” to the team.

“The world proclaims LGBTQ, right?” Ivey had said. “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.’ They proclaim it in the streets. Unrighteousness.”

Anthony Tafoya, a San Quentin Rehabilitation Center resident who identifies as LGBTQ+, said, “Ivey shouldn’t have been fired. It’s not like he’s an ICE agent who killed someone.”

According to Jacques Printup of Yahoo Sports Headlines, Ivey, who was drafted by the Detroit Pistons as the fifth player in the 2022 NBA Draft, went live on his social media accounts several times over the last few weeks. Printup cited “various sources” that said while Ivey was on his own livestream, he spoke about his own religious and social beliefs, including his beliefs about the queer community.

Printup reported that Ivey chastised the NBA for supporting the LGBTQ+ community by hosting Pride Month events.

Amid a flurry of social media activity, the Chicago Bulls cut Ivey from their roster. The Blasts’ Melanie VanDerveer said Bulls head coach Billy Donovan broke his silence on the matter just before his team’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, March 30, the day they fired Ivey.

VanDerveer reported that Donovan told the media that the Bulls have a “certain level of standards and expectations” for their players. “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 got to help each other and then be accountable to those standards.”

Jaden Ivey is not the only athlete who thinks that the LGBTQ+ community is living in “unrighteousness.” New England Patriot TreVeyon Henderson appeared to support Ivey’s opinions about religion and social issues. Henderson himself spoke a Bible verse about inheriting the Kingdom of God.

When Ivey continued on other livestreams he blasted the Catholic faith, calling it “a fake religion” and later told a fan that God won’t listen to sinners. Ivey also questioned the organization’s decision to fire him in another online post, per ESPN, saying, “[The Bulls] said my conduct is detrimental to the team. 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?”

According to VanDerveer, Ivey called the Bulls organization “liars,” adding, “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.”

Amid Ivey’s controversial tirades about the LGBTQ+ community, Catholicism, and his abrupt firing, Donovan said that the mental health of athletes is important in today’s society.

“And I’m not passing judgment on what Jaden is or is not going through. But I do worry about that, not only for Jaden, but for all of our players,” said Donovan. “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,” he said.

San Quentin residents Kenny Rogers and Michael Beaudette spoke about Ivey’s termination as well.

“I also believe in Bible verses that say such lifestyles are both abominable and detestable to our Holy Father,” said Beaudette.

Kenny Rogers, a devout member of the Catholic chapel, said, “The problem lies with society’s embracing of the marginalized in America. You can’t say anything negative about those communities or you are ‘BAD,’ because cancel culture lives as free speech is in critical condition.”