Marcus Jordan Wears Nike, Adidas Bids Adieu To School

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 5, 2009 7:00PM

Last night, Marcus Jordan, son of Bulls legend Michael, made good on his promise to wear Nike shoes during his school's first game, prompting rival shoe company adidas to back out of it's multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with the school. The controversy had started a while ago when Jordan claimed the school, the University of Central Florida, promised him he could wear his father's line of Nike shoes though that directly conflicted with the school's exclusive contract with adidas. According to the Orlando Sentinel:

Adidas spokeswoman Andrea Corso said in an e-mail to the Orlando Sentinel, "The University of Central Florida has chosen not to deliver on their contractual commitment to adidas. As a result we have chosen not to continue our relationship with them moving forward."

UCF Athletics Director Keith Tribble said late Wednesday that he was surprised by the statement from adidas.

"There's really not much I can say because I don't know anything about it and have not heard anything official from adidas about our agreement," Tribble said. "As I said before, we spoke with adidas officials throughout this process and were continuing contract negotiations with them. I have not seen anything in writing or heard directly from adidas about a change in our relationship."

Jordan's shoes didn't feature a visible Nike logo and, in fact, everything else he wore - including an ankle brace - had an adidas logo on it. There's no word on any other potential sponsorship deals the school may be pursuing as a result. FYI, UCF won the game and Jordan, in limited action, scored 1 point, dished 1 assist, and made 3 steals.