Nike is in full damage control mode on Thursday after a sneaker belonging to the college basketball sensation Zion Williamson split open in just around half a minute into a very highly anticipated match between Duke University and North Carolina, on Wednesday. It has made the matters worse for Williamson who is expected to be in the number one pick in the NBA Draft, who left Wednesday night’s game with a serious injury in the right knee.
“We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery,” Nike said in a statement. “The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
The Twitter Outburst
The shoe malfunction set twitter into a fire with many users noticing the extreme visibility of the incident as the game was most watched at the college basketball season.
Even, Former President Barack Obama of U.S. also attended the high profile event. A video of him sitting courtside appeared to show him saying about the breaking of Zion’s shoe. Later, on Twitter, he also wished Williamson a speedy recovery and exclaimed that he was an outstanding basketball player.
The Outcome of the match
Zion Williamson was a 6-foot-7-inch freshman forward for the Duke Blue Devils who was wearing the Nike PG 2.5 basketball shoe when he was injured. The injury of Williamson did make the No. 1 ranked Duke losing to the No.8 ranked Tar Heels team with a score of 72-88.
Nike’s History
Nike has been the Duke’s exclusive supplier of uniforms, shoes, and apparel within an extended contract of 12 years as of 2015 and has had an exclusive deal with the University since 1992.
This isn’t the first time when Nike faced controversy on its sportswear. Earlier in 2017, several of its NBA jerseys, worn by basketball stars, ripped apart.
Nike’s Concern
1. Market Capitalization
Shares of Nike fell 1 percent in early Thursday’s trading, a day after the incident, wiping off around $1.46 Billion from Nike’s market capitalization.
The Nike PG 2.5 basketball shoe, according to Nike, had received mixed reviews and a rating of 4 out of 5 on Nike.com as of Thursday, which sells for $95-$105 on Nike’s website.
2. Social Media sentiment drop
People were twice as lucky to express negative sentiments about Nike with 1.6 Billion impressions and a reach of 170 million users.
Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel said that he was optimistic and Nike will not face any lasting damage to the company and its shares.
