Kyrie Irving gave the middle finger to Nike with a message on his signature shoes Wednesday night … covering the swoosh logo and etching “I am Free Thank You God I am” on a patch of tape after his breakup with the sneaker giant.
Irving hit the court at Barclays Center for the first time since becoming a shoe-free agent on Monday … and while he decided to keep wearing his own kicks, he made sure to distance himself from his former partner.
Irving rocked the Nike Kyrie 3 PE in the “Raygun” colorway for the matchup against the Charlotte Hornets … but if you look closely, the side logo is covered with black tape.
Kyrie switched kicks mid-game — which is not uncommon for NBA players — and the second pair also had the Swoosh scribbled out with black marker.
You’ll recall … the brand suspended its relationship with Kyrie after he tweeted a link to a film containing antisemitic content … saying there was no place for hate speech at Nike.
Irving, however, continued to don Nike sneakers during games … though it’s unclear if he was contractually obligated to or if the decision was a personal choice.
Right after news broke that the Kyrie era was over at Nike, the 30-year-old tweeted out a GIF that read, “There’s nothing more priceless than being free.”
Kyrie joined the Nike family in 2011, releasing his first shoe in 2014, but now the NBA superstar is a free agent in the sneaker game … and he clearly seems happy about it.