Nike boss Knight utterly infamous

[Montag]

Nike boss Knight utterly infamous
by Phil Mushnick

February 27, 2012
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_spor...9NC9zQfP/1

excerpt:

Fascinating, how things seem to happen as if on cue.

The NBA announced Friday that Nike capo di tutti capi Phil Knight has been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in the “Contributor” category — proof that one can buy his way into this Hall of Fame.

At roughly the same time Friday, as if on cue, riots and near-riots were occurring at selected sneaker stores along the East Coast. Of course they were.

Nike was rolling out its new, overpriced, Third World-made status symbols, and for these sin-ugly psychedelic babies, at $220 plus tax, Nike again kept the prices ridiculously high and the supply extremely limited. Yet again, Nike would cause both a buzz and a feeding frenzy among those who would regard procurement of a pair of cheaply made sneakers as worthy of committing mayhem — and too many times even murder.

For 25 years, Nike has proven it knows exactly what it’s doing, how to do it, whom to do it to, and where to do it to them. Nike does nothing by accident. And, as it knows by now, the sicker the scene, the more successful the plan.

In Friday’s case, Nike’s sense of timing and location again was impeccable, as the biggest street hassle — more than 100 cops in riot gear were summoned — occurred in Orlando, site of the NBA All-Star Game.

[ecarina]

Won't click on a Murdoch link, but I do think this sort of cheapens the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Most of the "contributors" have a lot more direct basketball involvement.

Uncle Phil is essentially a gear promoter and sponsor in this context- although he did build this:





Now, if we're talking the Track & Field Hall of Fame, then Bill Bowerman, Phil Knight, Geoff Hollister, Steve Prefontaine, Alberto Salazar- then we're talking giants. Among the very best that ever lived.