Washington: Nike stocks have plunged after basketball star Zion Williamson’s sneaker split apart during a match.
The American sportswear giant’s stocks were down more than 1 per cent on Thursday following the incident on Wednesday evening which took place within the first minute of Duke’s blockbuster matchup against rival North Carolina, CNN reported.
After Williamson’s Nike PG2.5 shoes split apart, he left the game with a knee injury.
Clips of former President Barack Obama, who was sitting courtside, pointing to the incident has gone viral.
Here is a video showing the sneakers split and leaving Zion Williamson with an injury which was posted on Twitter by Adam Schefter. He said, “Here’s the knee injury that ended Zion Williamson’s night….”
Here’s the knee injury that ended Zion Williamson’s night…. pic.twitter.com/2gkKTq7gTl
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 21, 2019
Bleacher Report took to Twitter and said, “Zion Williamson has an $8M insurance policy that would only kick in if he slips past No. 16 in the draft due to injury, per @darrenrovell”:
Zion Williamson has an $8M insurance policy that would only kick in if he slips past No. 16 in the draft due to injury, per @darrenrovell pic.twitter.com/q7VSz3XXg7
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 21, 2019
Nike, which exclusively supplies Duke’s basketball team with uniforms, shoes and gear, quickly released a statement, saying they were “working to identify the issue”.
Endorsement deals with star athletes, including LeBron James and Serena Williams, and sponsorships with pro sports leagues and top college basketball and football teams are a crucial part of Nike’s growth strategy.
Nike has also reduced its dependence on high-top basketball sneakers for growth in recent years. It has instead focused on lightweight running and wear-to-work shoes.
The company’s basketball sneaker sales fell last year as consumers moved away from performance sneakers to more casual and comfortable shoes.
–IANS
