Not a good day to work at Nike. Photo / News Corp Australia/Supplied
It's not easy to overshadow Barack Obama but Zion Williamson did just that on Thursday (AEDT) — and it was terrible news for Nike.
The former US President was in the house to watch Duke square off against the University of North Carolina (UNC) in one of college basketball's fiercest rivalries, as fans around the country tuned in to the nationally televised game.
Supporters went wild when Obama entered the stadium and other celebrities like director Spike Lee and baseball legend Ken Griffey Jr also joined him in the stands.
They all wanted a first-hand look at the man destined to become an unstoppable force in the NBA and it didn't take long for Williamson to steal the limelight from Obama and Co. and send social media absolutely bananas.
But while the future No. 1 draft pick has done that plenty of times with some outrageous feats of athleticism for Duke, this time it was his fashion that caught the eye — but for all the wrong reasons.
Williamson's Nike shoe exploded less than a minute into the blockbuster and the 18-year-old went down in a heap. He clutched his leg after hitting the floor before hobbling off to the locker room.
"His foot comes out of his shoe. That's unbelievable," one commentator said.
Zion's shoe: destroyed 😳 pic.twitter.com/LqQ2te0Jay
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 21, 2019
Duke later issued a statement saying Williamson would sit out the remainder of the match with a knee injury.
Williamson grabbed his right knee in pain after slipping awkwardly and falling when his left shoe fell apart as he planted while dribbling near the free throw line.
Williamson, the ACC's second-leading scorer at 22.4 points per game and arguably the most exciting player in college basketball, walked off with a slight limp but under his own power before heading back to the locker room with no shoes on his feet.
The calamity spelt disaster for Nike — who will be hoping to sign the teenage prodigy when he becomes available in April — because it happened in the most watched college game of the season. You know there'll be plenty of eyeballs on you when Obama rocks up but everyone watching will have been devastated when the main attraction was rubbed out by a fashion fail.
Some punters paid upwards of $US9000 for tickets to the game to catch Williamson in action. He's that good, ESPN basketball commentator Fran Fraschilla said last year he will make $1 billion playing the sport "effortlessly".
ESPN's Jay Williams also said the teen beast is in line for an $AUD1.4 million shoe deal.
Viewers were quick to flood social media to let Nike executives know — in case they couldn't figure it out for themselves — how damaging a look the exploding shoe was for the brand, and for their hopes of landing Williamson and attaching themselves to the $1 billion megastar in waiting.
Rival sportswear company Puma also hit Nike with a stinging sledge in a since-deleted sledge that read: "Wouldn't have happened in Pumas."
To make matters worse, NBA superstar LeBron James drew the attention of his 42.2 million Twitters to the incident.
Other NBA commentators finally reached boiling point in the ongoing outcry surrounding college basketball rules which outlaws any form of player payment in a sport that still classifies itself amateur.
Duke is four years into a 12-year deal with Nike as the exclusive supplier of uniforms, shoes and apparel. The private school didn't disclose terms of the 2015 contract extension.
Nike has had an exclusive deal with the university since 1992.
Absolutely. This season has an utterly shameful exercise in exploitation from NCAA. Anywhere else in the work Zion would have been entitled to millions in salary and bonuses for all the business he drove.... #NBA https://t.co/LXpNxLx7qW
— Roy Ward (@rpjward) February 21, 2019
This game alone should be the end of amateurism. So many — Duke, ticket scammers, sponsors, and businesses all throughout Durham — are making so much more money than usual b/c of Zion. He makes nothing, and gets hurt in the game, months before he can cash in. It’s disgraceful.
— Lindsay Gibbs (@linzsports) February 21, 2019
Hope young fella is ok! Literally blew thru his 👟. 🙏🏾
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 21, 2019
Execs at Nike gotta be cringing over this Zion injury. Your shoe pretty much explodes in what might be the most watched game of the season so far ...and now the player everyone is tuned in to watch is on the bench. pic.twitter.com/mRV0B6JM96
— DJ Ekin (@DJEkin) February 21, 2019
Welp. Zion ain't signing with Nike in April.#UNCvsDUKE
— Adam Winkler (@AdamWinkABC13) February 21, 2019
That the shoe blew out on National TV. That the shoe blew out for Duke-UNC. That the shoe blew out on Zion Williamson. Awful look for Nike.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 21, 2019
Rough start for Nike. Like really rough. pic.twitter.com/2t2C89EyXG
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 21, 2019
WHAT??? ZION'S SHOE BLOWS APART ON DUKE'S OPENING POSSESSION AND HE HURTS HIMSELF AS HE FALLS??? HAMSTRING OR BACK OF KNEE??? LIMPS TO LOCKER ROOM WITH OBAMA IN THE FRONT ROW? NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 21, 2019
Zion Williamson’s shoe blowing out in a national game is bad. Zion Williamson’s shoe blowing out during Duke versus UNC is a nightmare.
— Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) February 21, 2019
Not a good look for Nike. pic.twitter.com/8LMTYClmWI
Man. Nike and Zion both went down with that one. #DukevsUNC
— Herb Scribner (@HerbScribner) February 21, 2019
Bad look for Nike with the exploding shoe. Zion gotta save that clip for sneaker contract negotiations this summer 👀💰💰
— Ben Gardner (@BennyG49) February 21, 2019
Duke’s Nike contract after Zion blows out his shoe #UNCvsDuke pic.twitter.com/Jre3NKUyPo
— Sean Ash (@SeanAshWX) February 21, 2019
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