There’s bad Nike news today for NKE stock following the blowout of one of its sneakers in a recent game.
The game taking place between the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels had an early interruption when Duke player Zion Williamson’s foot broke out of his shoe. The game was only 33 seconds underway when the accident occurred.
Video of the blowout shows the Nike sneaker ripping down the side and Williamson’s foot breaking out of it. This resulted in the basketball player hurting his knee and leaving for the rest of the game, which Duke lost.
So why exactly does this matter so much to NKE stock? Well, Williamson is the top college basketball player in the country. He’s also expected to be the top pick in the NBA draft. That’s already a bad look for Nike, reports Yahoo News.
What may be even worse is what this could do to a partnership between the two. Nike was likely hoping to sign a deal with Williamson once he went pro, but the blowout and injury may result in him turning down offers from the shoe company.
Nike has this to say about the blowout in a statement to ESPN.
“We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
NKE stock was down 1% as of Thursday afternoon.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
