Less than a week after the Chicago Bulls waived guard Jaden Ivey, a new video has pushed the former top-five draft pick back into public view — not on a court, but behind a microphone, preaching Scripture in a public square. The clip, which circulated widely over the weekend and was posted on TikTok by Kedrick Atwater, appears to show Ivey quoting Matthew 5:8 and speaking to a small crowd. In the video, he can be heard saying, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Watch the TikTok clip here. Reports agree the video is recent, though not all of them agree on where it was filmed. BET described it as Chicago, while ClutchPoints identified the location as Toomer’s Corner in Auburn, Alabama.
What is not in dispute is the timing. The Bulls waived Ivey on March 30, saying he had engaged in “conduct detrimental to the team” after he posted videos on Instagram that included anti-LGBTQ comments and broader religious remarks. One of the comments that drew particular attention was his criticism of the NBA’s Pride Month messaging, which he called “unrighteousness.” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said the organization includes people from “all different walks of life” and stressed that professionalism, mutual respect, and accountability remained the standard inside the franchise.
Ivey, 24, was the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NBA draft and was traded from Detroit to Chicago in a three-team deal on February 3. NBA.com’s official trade tracker shows Chicago acquired Ivey from the Pistons as part of that deadline move, but his stay with the Bulls was brief. ESPN reported that he appeared in only four games for Chicago and last played on February 11 before being shut down for the rest of the season because of a sore left knee.
The street-preaching video now adds a fresh chapter to a story that, for many Christians, has become about more than basketball. In the clip recirculated online, Ivey appears to be doing exactly what he later claimed cost him his roster spot, publicly preaching. ClutchPoints reported that the video showed him addressing a small crowd and quoting the Beatitudes.
Ivey himself has rejected the team’s explanation for his release. In comments reported after the waiver, he said the Bulls were not being honest when they described his conduct as detrimental, arguing instead that he was being punished for speaking openly about Jesus and for objecting to the league’s celebration of Pride Month. Fox News quoted him saying, “My conduct was not detrimental to the team,” while ESPN reported that he publicly questioned why the team did not simply say it disagreed with his stance on LGBTQ issues.
Still, the story is larger than one player’s self-understanding. ESPN reported that some within the Bulls organization had grown increasingly frustrated with Ivey’s conduct, describing him as “preachy” around the locker room and noting that his public religious commentary had intensified after his move to Chicago. That reporting matters because it frames the decision not merely as a reaction to a single video, but as the culmination of a broader breakdown between player, team culture, and workplace expectations.
For Christian readers, the image of an NBA free agent street preaching days after losing his job is certain to provoke strong reactions. Some will see it as boldness. Others will see it as further evidence of instability, poor judgment, or a refusal to separate personal conviction from professional responsibility. The facts presently available do not settle those deeper questions. They do show that Ivey’s public witness has not quieted since his release. If anything, it has become more visible.
That is what makes the moment so striking. In modern sports, athletes are often most visible when they are performing, endorsing, or apologizing. Ivey’s latest viral appearance fits none of those categories. It is a public act of religious speech by a player whose future in the league is suddenly uncertain. Whether that video becomes a brief curiosity or the beginning of a new chapter in Ivey’s life remains to be seen. But for now, it has ensured that his exit from Chicago will not be remembered as a routine roster move. It will be remembered as a collision of faith, public witness, team culture, and the unforgiving glare of modern sports media.
