ORLANDO, Fla. -- A fight over the shoes Michael Jordan's son will wear at UCF has cost the school any future sponsorship with adidas.
"The University of Central Florida has chosen not to deliver on their contractual commitment to adidas," adidas spokeswoman Andrea Corso wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press. "As a result we have chosen not to continue our relationship with them moving forward."
Freshman guard Marcus Jordan wore a pair of white Air Jordans during UCF's exhibition game against Saint Leo on Wednesday night, the Orlando Sentinel reported on its website. Jordan has said he will only wear his father's Nike Air Jordan shoes because they hold special meaning to his family.
UCF is in the final year of a five-year contract with adidas that requires coaches and athletes to use the company's apparel and equipment.
"We are disappointed to learn that adidas has chosen to discontinue its relationship with UCF Athletics," the school said in a statement Wednesday night released by spokesman Joe Hornstein. "Once we receive official notice we will be able to further respond."
Another spoiled athlete getting his way or a shoe company over reacting?
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Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.
I don't know what's going on here to be honest with you.
Athletes are in general required to wear the gear their supplied with by whoever the University signed their equipment contract with. In return the company gets advertising. Fairly simple.
I really don't see why an exception can't be made for Michael Jordan's son to wear his dad's shoes. I mean it's not like Adidas was going to get all that much money by saying Michael Jordan's son wear's our shoes, and it's Michael Jordan's son.
If he wants to wear his dad's shoes because they mean something to him, who is really going to question that?
I don't know what Adidas really has to gain by dropping UCF. It certainly hurts them PR wise, and don't think for one second that Nike won't look to take full advantage of this.
Whoever made that call on the Adidas side of things made an awful decision, and if I were the CEO of that company, the person responsible for this decision would be fired on the spot. They caused bad publicity for the company, possibly costing them millions of dollars in potential earnings, all over something that in my opnion could have been handled in a way where a deal could have been very easily worked out in a non-discrete way. But instead of talking it over like adults, Adidas decided to act like a seven year old, and took their ball and went home, when they didn't get their way.
Why doesn't Jordan just wear Adidas? Because they have special meening to his family? Your in college, you don't listen to your parents anymore. Get the **** out of here mother****er.
