Jaylen Brown and Giannis Antetokounmpo. PHOTO USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGN IMAGES Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is living rent-free inside Nike’s head.
Brown has been going at Nike since 2022, when, in a social media post, he publicly questioned just how ethical the popular supplier of athletic apparel and equipment really was.
“Since when did Nike care about ethics?” Brown said on X, formerly known as Twitter, after Nike disassociated itself from Kyrie Irving in 2022 because of the then-Brooklyn Nets guard posting a link to an antisemitic film.
Then, when the Paris Olympics rolled around this past summer, Brown was left off Team USA despite being named Finals MVP in mid-June. The sponsor of the squad? None other than Nike.
“I do for sure,” Brown told CLNS Media in July when asked if he thought Nike played a role in the decision to bring 12 other players to France. “(There will be) more stuff to come with that, but as of now, I’m not gonna comment on it.”
All was quiet until a string of events went down this past week that brought Brown’s beef with Nike back to life. Sure, it wasn’t Archduke Franz Ferdinand taking a bullet to the neck to kick off a world war, but it was about as close as you’re going to get in NBA terms.
Not really, but you get the point.
During a meeting between Boston and the Bucks on Sunday, Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo was called for a charge in the second quarter after elbowing Brown in the lane. He seemingly elected to be apologetic by extending his hand to shake Brown’s, but when Brown went to make amends, Antetokounmpo faked him out and pulled his hand back.
After the game, a 113-107 Celtics victory, Brown referred to Antetokounmpo as “a child.”
The Bucks had to scratch and claw to beat the Pistons 127-120 in overtime three days later, but Antetokounmpo hung 59 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists on Detroit, and man, oh man, did Nike love that stat line.
“Nothing childish about ‘em. 59 for the Greek freak,” the company’s basketball account posted to X following the game.
Did we read that right? Did Nike, a multi-billion-dollar company, just subtweet Brown like my ex-girlfriend did to me my freshman year of high school? Is that how we’re doing things here in 2024?
For a company that has been telling us to “just do it” for nearly 40 years, Nike has no hair on its chest whatsoever. If it has so much of a problem with Brown, it knows where to find him. He isn’t out there hiding. Say something directly to him. Don’t use Antetokounmpo and the 4-8 Bucks as your smoke screen.
Chances are, we won’t ever see Nike directly attack Brown because it knows he’s right. This isn’t some morally responsible company we’re dealing with here. There would be no Nike Swoosh if it weren’t for kids overseas working in sweatshops, and the franchise has also been accused of “unlawful business practices.”
People or entities in positions of power often lash out when their wrongdoings get brought into the public eye. We’re seeing that here. Most tend to be a little more macho, but hey, sucking up to Mr. Run-and-Dunk works, too.
Don’t be surprised if Brown shuts Nike up with his performance on Saturday.
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