Nike is no stranger when it comes to Zion Williamson’s Duke University basketball team. They’ve long been outfitting the players since 1993! Considering that Duke was taking on current front-runner North Carolina this week, Nike was probably ecstatic to have their name associated with this team.
However, things didn’t go as planned on Wednesday night, when the Nike shoes that Williamson was wearing resulted in a knee injury. How did this happen? The shoes very literally exploded when he planted his left foot to pivot.
Zion’s Shoe: Destroyed
If you’re feeling bummed that you may have missed seeing what a blast this must have been for Williamson, SportsCenter thankfully has a clip from the moment it happened.
Zion’s shoe: destroyed 😳 pic.twitter.com/LqQ2te0Jay
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 21, 2019
A view from another angle:
This is crazy. Truly hope Zion’s not injured seriously #UNCvsDuke pic.twitter.com/IkxlYcQRPo
— Sean Ash (@SeanWTHR) February 21, 2019
Fans were very quick to respond to this event online, in shared amazement that a single shoe could take out 285-pound Williamson.
Zion Williamson is officially a Marvel character. Who explodes a shoe with a simple foot plant?
— Brad Evans (@YahooNoise) February 21, 2019
Nike rep is cringing after that hi-top blowout that nearly injured Zion.
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) February 21, 2019
Duke’s Nike contract after Zion blows out his shoe #UNCvsDuke pic.twitter.com/Jre3NKUyPo
— Sean Ash (@SeanWTHR) February 21, 2019
Official Statement From Nike About the Incident
The Washington Post reached out to Nike, and this statement was provided via email about the incident:
“We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery,” a Nike spokesman told The Post in a statement via email. “The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance.
“While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
In case it isn’t obvious, it might take a while for Nike to regain trust from some professional teams. With everything that is taken into account during a game, having your shoe explode shouldn’t be one of them.
