Michael Jordan's son wants to wear Nike shoes, but his college team has contract with Adidas

[Sarahfeena]

Interesting story about Michael Jordan's younger son Marcus, who is a freshman at Central Florida University. He's on the basketball team, and wants to wear his dad's Nike shoes. However, the team has a contract with Adidas, and that company supplies all the gear, including the shoes, for the team. Marcus says he'll wear the apparel no problem, but he's wearing his dad's shoes and that's that. Now the contract is in jeopardy.

Chicago Tribune story is here. I was more on the school's side before I read the article, as CFU doesn't have a major basketball program, and can probably use the money that the Adidas contract pulls in. Also, I'm disinclined to think that rich folks should be able to get away with acting like prima donnas in situations like these (although I will say that Marcus's older brother Jeffrey plays for my alma mater, and seems very much like a good kid and a team player). Once I read it, though, I think someone may have been a little shady with Marcus, as it says that all agreed before he made his committment that he could wear the Nike shoes if he wanted to. Not sure if the school just thought they'd change his mind later, or if they really didn't discuss it with Adidas first, or if Adidas changed their mind about it. But, if it was agreed to, then I think they need to let him do it.

So my question is, which side do you think is in the rights here? Should a school be able to dictate what brand of shoes a player wears? Does the player being on a scholarship or not make a difference (I think Marcus is a scholarship player). Does it matter if the student's famous father will bring the school publicity and probably donate a bunch of cash to the program?

[Cluricaun]

Who cares which shoes he wears though really? Despite mid 90's advertising to the contrary, it doesn't have to be the shoes.

And as an observation, those are his dad's shoes, which he will metaphorically never fill, so fuck off and wear the ADIDAS and quit being a dingus. Who cares if they promised him he could wear anything? Things change, shit happens, now do you want to play ball for this school or not?

[Feirefiz]

Should a school be able to dictate what brand of shoes a player wears?

Perhaps not in general but it is a perfectly reasonable provision in a sponsorship contract. I don't see why the team shouldn't have to honor its end of the deal just because someone's father used to be a shoe model.

[Fink-Nottle]

Perhaps not in general but it is a perfectly reasonable provision in a sponsorship contract. I don't see why the team shouldn't have to honor its end of the deal just because someone's father used to be a shoe model.

I agree. I don't know what they told this kid before he agreed to go to school there, but strip away the fact that he's Michael Jordan's son and he's just some punkass kid who doesn't think he has to follow the rules that everyone else does. And I would think that his father's people would have been smart enough to get an exception to that shoe thing in writing.

[Oliveloaf]

This is a problem at work. I have a contract to wear only clothes from K-Mart's Rachel McLish Collection, but the office is all Lane Bryant.

[Zuul]

UCF said in a statement Thursday that adidas was aware of the situation during contract renewal discussions. The university says it was "led to believe that there would be a workable solution to a unique situation."

What does this mean, exactly? Was the school mislead about it being okay and now they're getting screwed over, or is the deal actually going to be fine and the media is just turning this into an epic battle? Either way, the only party to this situation I have sympathy for is the school.

It's a petty thing for adidas to get their panties in a bunch over and it's incredibly childish of Marcus to refuse to wear the shoes the program requires. I don't care if they have "sentimental value" to his family. He's acting like a twat. The school needs that money and he's a scholarship student.

[Feirefiz]

What does this mean, exactly? Was the school mislead about it being okay and now they're getting screwed over, or is the deal actually going to be fine and the media is just turning this into an epic battle? Either way, the only party to this situation I have sympathy for is the school.

The way I read it Jordan is already playing in the wrong shoes and the current contract will run out next summer. The team is currently negotiating the renewal and the whole affair could weaken their position.

[Sarahfeena]

Unfortunately for Marcus, I'll bet this is coming from his dad. He has been known to cause trouble in this regard before. Anyone remember the Olympics when he wouldn't wear the Reebok logo? Here he is covering it up with the American Flag:

[Fink-Nottle]

My real beef is that this kid is a scholarship student. The fuck? Michael Jordan can't afford to send his kids to college? Why not let that money go somewhere it's needed and maybe the school doesn't need a sponsor.

[Sarahfeena]

Yeah, that is kind of weird, but a scholarship in basketball isn't just about the money...he may not even be taking it. He probably isn't, actually. It's not a need-based scholarship, it's based on your basketball talent and how badly the school wants you. Marcus's brother wasn't good enough to really get a scholarship anywhere, and he played as a walk-on at U of I until last semester, when they gave him a scholarship spot kind of as a reward for his contributions to the team.

ETA: Come to think of it, it's not about taking money, it's really just the free education, isn't it? His dad is probably making that up in other ways, anyway.

[Cluricaun]

My real beef is that this kid is a scholarship student. The fuck? Michael Jordan can't afford to send his kids to college? Why not let that money go somewhere it's needed and maybe the school doesn't need a sponsor.

An excellently valid point. Maybe MJ is a dick about money to his kids.

[Sarahfeena]

An excellently valid point. Maybe MJ is a dick about money to his kids.

I doubt the kids have money problems...if their dad won't give it to them, I'm sure their mom could scrape up the out-of-state tuition to Central Florida out of her $125 millon divorce settlement!

[Revs]

He says he will only wear his father's Nike Air Jordan shoes because they hold special meaning to his family.

Of course they do, money.

What a spoiled brat. Way to be a team player.

[Glazer]

Perhaps not in general but it is a perfectly reasonable provision in a sponsorship contract. I don't see why the team shouldn't have to honor its end of the deal just because someone's father used to be a shoe model.

You do know that shoe model is a euphemism for stripper don't you?

[Feirefiz]

You do know that shoe model is a euphemism for stripper don't you?

Err, let's pretend I did.

[Cluricaun]

You do know that shoe model is a euphemism for stripper don't you?

I love you dude.

Have you all seen the aerial photo of the compound that Mike lost to Juanita in the divorce? My company did the title processing on this and I can attest that this is a real and true photo of his estate in Highland Park, a wealthy northern suburb of Chicago:

[Cluricaun]

Anyway, he nearly owned his own fucking suburb. Those smaller houses were guest homes and where his mother and sister and other assorted Jordanarati lived.

[SeeOhTwo]

It seems kind of ridiculous that colleges have contracts with shoe companies in the first place. I think the players should get paid and should be able to negotiate their own endorsement deals.

[Hatshepsut]

strip away the fact that he's Michael Jordan's son and he's just some punkass kid who doesn't think he has to follow the rules that everyone else does. And I would think that his father's people would have been smart enough to get an exception to that shoe thing in writing.

Agreed.

Interestingly, at the Nike factory I visited in Indonesia some years ago as part of a fact-finding mission on worker conditions, the employees were forbidden to wear Nike shoes and were encouraged to wear competing brands such as Reebok. This was to completely remove the possibility of any misunderstandings regarding theft.