A 9-year-old wore a shirt that had Nike fairly furious. You see, Nike has a $4.2 million contract with Florida State University, so when the company spotted the son of Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher wearing an Under Armour shirt? Well that was a problem. According to BizJournals.com , this actually happened during the Nov. 2 game between FSU and Miami, but news is just making its way to the internet now.
“Fisher’s son, Ethan, came onto the field and hugged his father after the win, a moment that appeared on television. Mark Dupes, Nike’s assistant director for football sports marketing, jumped into action when he saw Baltimore-based sportswear maker Under Armour appear on Nike’s turf via Ethan’s shirt.”
The 9-year-old’s Nike shirt caused quite a stir and an email was sent from Dupes to FSU administrators. Apparently he made a request — a very straight forward request — that Jimbo Fisher “eliminates” that particular shirt from his son’s wardrobe. Forget asking him to respect the contract and ensure that his son isn’t seen anywhere near the field in anything other than Nike… Dupes basically wanted the shirt thrown away.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Ethan Fisher has been spotted quite a few times since his major wardrobe oops. Apparently the 9-year-old is now sporting Nike gear whilst at work with his dad… and maybe even everywhere else he goes. Needless to say, Dupes’ message was heard loud and clear.
Apparently Nike has no problem speaking up about things of this nature.
“Nike’s prominent presence in the internal communications at Florida State isn’t a surprise. Athletic apparel companies have been known to dictate everything from the design of a team’s uniform to whether players are allowed to wear tape over their cleats.”
The 9-year-old choosing a shirt without a Nike symbol on it doesn’t seem like something that was intentional. The kid probably just grabbed anything to wear without even thinking about it. However, he is thinking about his choices now, and it won’t be surprising to see that famous Nike swoosh across his chest at every single game this season.
At least Nike has some pretty cool options… like the new Derek Jeter “RE2PECT” shirt. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , Nike is proud of Derek Jeter , and the shirt they created in honor of him proves that. Only question is, would Nike have a problem if Ethan Fisher wore a baseball shirt to a football game… Nike is Nike, right? So many options, so little time.
[Photo courtesy of USATSI via CBS Sports ]
