October 25, 2009

Rivals.com Staff

At the College Basketball Roundtable each week, we ask each member of the college basketball coverage staff for his opinion about a topic in the sport.

Today's question: A fight over the shoes Michael Jordan's son will wear at the University of Central Florida could cost the school as much as $3 million. Guard Marcus Jordan is refusing to wear shoes made by adidas, the brand the university has a contract with for all its sports. He says he will only wear his father's Nike Air Jordan shoes because it holds special meaning to his family. UCF is in the final year of its contract with adidas. There have been media reports that the school is negotiating a new deal that could be worth up to $3 million and last up to six years. What do you think the outcome SHOULD be, and what do you think the outcome WILL be?

David Fox's answer:
As the most flexible party in this dispute (though I'm sure Marcus Jordan and his father disagree), Jordan should be the one to relent and wear adidas shoes at least for the year. UCF can't sacrifice the contract with adidas, who furnishes the entire athletic program - not just men's basketball. A deal with Nike in 2010 - when the adidas contract is up - appears unlikely, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Adidas shouldn't budge, either. If Jordan wears Nike shoes, what will broadcasters talk about during UCF games? Jordan's shoes and the dispute with adidas. How does that work for adidas' interests? My guess is adidas gets its way and Jordan gives up his Nikes. If that can't happen, Jordan has to decide if it's more important to play at UCF or play at another school where he can wear Nike.

Mike Huguenin's answer:
Hey, it's understandable that Marcus Jordan would want to wear Nikes. The company has paid his family a ton of money. But Marcus' new family wears adidas - and adidas has paid his new family a lot of money. This whole thing is unseemly. Does it really matter to Nike what brand of shoes Michael Jordan's son wears? Hey, Marcus, enough already. UCF wants you to wear adidas? Just do it.

Jason King's answer:
Marcus Jordan needs to suck it up and get used to wearing adidas. The kid is not bigger than the institution. There is no reason why he shouldn't have to adhere to the same guidelines as his teammates. He's making himself look foolish and spoiled by pulling the "I'm Michael Jordan's son" card - although it wouldn't surprise me if his father is the one behind this mess. Until Michael Jordan starts contributing millions of dollars to Central Florida, the university needs to force his son to abide by the rules or find another college. The possibility of a "compromise" shouldn't even exist. Unfortunately, though, I'm sure that's what will happen.

Steve Megargee's answer:
This story spotlights how the shoe wars have started to reach the height of absurdity. If Marcus Jordan wanted to wear Nikes so badly, why didn't he sign with a school that had a Nike contract? Of course, I certainly would hope a player wouldn't choose a school based on what shoes its basketball team wore, though I imagine it's happened many times before. But the fact this question even enters your mind shows the foolishness of this entire debate. You'd like to think there would be some give-and-take on both sides. Why couldn't Jordan show loyalty to his school by wearing the same model shoe as the rest of the team? And if this issue does mean that much to the Jordan family, why can't UCF make an exception and allow the son of Nike's most famous client to wear a shoe made by the company his dad endorses? Is there any room for compromise? Maybe so. Remember how Michael Jordan draped an American flag over the Reebok logo on his U.S. Olympic team gear during the 1992 Olympics? Perhaps his son can wear adidas with some strategically placed tape or patches covering up the company logo.