Basketball Ireland CEO Bernard O'Byrne has stepped down from his role it has been confirmed.
O'Byrne was embroiled in a controversy after social media comments came to light with the CEO saying 'Black Dives Matter' under a BBC story.
The story related to Raheem Sterling winning a penalty against Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-final and O'Byrne came under fire for his comments.
And now the organisation has confirmed that he has left his role.
And they say that the decision was jointly made both by the Basketball Ireland Board and O'Byrne to 'move on' from the incident.
Basketball Ireland chairman, Paul McDevitt, said: “I am very disappointed that Bernard is retiring under these circumstances. We know that the basketball community and beyond has felt particularly let down over the last few days and we will continue to listen to and address any concerns that are raised.
"Basketball Ireland takes a zero tolerance stance on any form of discrimination, and diversity and inclusion are key pillars in our sport.
“Bernard’s comment on social media was unacceptable. It has subsequently cast him in an unfavourable light, which is very unfortunate as over the last decade he has been a driving force within the basketball community in Ireland in addressing bullying and negative attitudes regarding gender, sexuality and race. His brief lapse in judgement does not reflect the person I know, nor Basketball Ireland as an organisation.”
And O'Byrne made a statement himself, saying: “While I am hugely disappointed that this is how my decade with Basketball Ireland has ended, I understand that stepping down is in the best interests of the sport. I am deeply apologetic over the hurt caused by my remark and I am fully cognisant of the struggles with discrimination that many people are having to deal with in day-to-day life.
"My comment was an off-the-cuff, extremely ill-judged attempt at humour based on wordplay only, that was never intended to be racially insensitive or make light of organisations which have done so much to help raise awareness of inclusion and discrimination.”
O'Byrne has previously apologised for the incident last Friday and has been involved in Basketball Ireland since 2011.
