'Deeply apologetic' Bernard O’Byrne steps down as Basketball Ireland CEO

Outgoing Basketball Ireland CEO Bernard O'Byrne. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Bernard O'Byrne is stepping down from his role as Basketball Ireland CEO and Secretary General, the governing body for the sport confirmed on Tuesday evening.

O'Byrne made headlines last week after a social media post he made in response to Raheem Sterling's controversial penalty for England in their Euro 2020 semi-final clash with Denmark.

Responding to a news article about the incident, Mr O'Byrne wrote: "Black dives matter".

“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," he said in a statement, ending his 10-year affiliation with Basketball Ireland.

"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," he added. 

"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.” 

Basketball Ireland chairman, Paul McDevitt, added: “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.” 

During his tenure at the organisation, O'Byrne was at the forefront of clearing Basketball Ireland's legacy debt of €1.2m and in recent years has overseen playing membership increasing by 66% to over 30,000, BI noted.