The NBA Playoffs have started and in the first game reigning MVP Derrick Rose tore his ACL.
Hit the jump for my thoughts…
Afterward, one of Nike’s head designers – Jason Petrie – tweeted some things about the injured star which stated that if Rose would have signed with Nike this wouldn’t have happened. Competition is abundant within the sports world and even more so between rival sportswear companies. Personally, I feel that what was publicly stated by Petrie is something that should only be discussed amongst friends and not with the rest of the world as when you are a public figure – especially for a giant company such as Nike – you end up leaving yourself (and the company) wide open for criticism. On the other hand, all is fair in love & basketball, right?
One thing I will say is that being a designer of performance footwear, you should already be aware that knee injuries are rarely – if ever – caused by the sneakers you wear. There are thousands of ankle injuries per year that are directly related to footwear but very rarely are knee injuries ever associated with such a thing. When you put your body through as much torment as professional athletes do along with their size and weight you are bound to injure something sooner or later. Rose is fast… very fast… combine the torque applied to such an isolated area with such sharp movements and an awkward landing and an ACL tear is bound to happen… no matter what shoes you are wearing.
The above video features Jstar25 and what his thoughts on the subject are. I have to say, I agree with everything he said. Most importantly, its imperative to stay professional when you are on something as openly social as Twitter or any other online social media platform otherwise you willingly throw yourself into a media frenzy as this is the type of stuff they live for.
I also wanted to leave you with this one thought… Ankle injuries are one of the most common in sports & Nike is the leader in footwear sales… instead of taking shots at another brand over an injury your footwear cannot prevent, maybe you should take a look at your own performance models and see what you are doing wrong to help further prevent injuries.
What are your thoughts on the subject? There is no right or wrong answer as your opinion is yours to make so feel free to let me know.
Like Jstar25 said, it’s poor taste, could create bad karma.
I can understand that he has a passion for his company and his designwork, but by sending out those tweets (http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/7869819/2012-nba-playoffs-nike-designer-mocks-derrick-rose-chicago-bulls-torn-acl) into the world he did his company a total disservice and although he closely works with his clients/professional athletes, he showed he does not quite understand that (pro’s) might not think as black and white as him. Although on the court they are competitors they also form a fraternity, brotherhood, who won’t appreciate his comments, no matter what company they are on.
Jstar25 mentioned Penny, but you can also throw Stephen Curry in there as a more recent example of a player who has injuryproblems while endorsing Nike.
I agree that Nike should dig deeper into what they themselves can improve upon. Selling innersocks and inserts as anklesupport to the general public for example, is ridiculous. And although (the lack of it) does not cause injury, the same goes for ventilation that seems to be there on the exterior but is not there at all as you check the interior of the shoe, with all kinds of materials blocking the (holes). A thing you have mentioned many times in your reviews.
I wondered about the 2.5. I have some faith. Love the Howards (on paper). Getting them.
Good vid, well balanced conversation.
I like both.
People get hurt all of the time, it’s just a part of life, like when i fractured my collar bone and it didn’t have anything to do with any brand i was wearing, i would’ve at least made varsity last year, but it happens, nike skips out on some things that adidas doesn’t, doesn’t matter what brand, but i love adidas and no problems with wearing them.
That completely uncalled for what Petrie said.
Even Nike said its unprofessional to say that.
He is under the hot seat now if Lebron X don’t pan out IMHO.
Jordan missed most of his second year due to injuries wearing Nike.
I hope Rose gets back completely healthy.
The last guard with that injury is Chris Paul and it takes about 2 seasons to recover fully in the worst case.
It’s funny how Petrie had the courage to take a shot at Adidas for Rose’s injuries. S.Curry had a lot of ankle injuries with Nike.
Anyway, I agree that they should just focus on making better products instead of making cheap shots to other brands.
I think Rose’s injury is due to the compressed season, also conditioning, & maybe some bad luck. He was out for awhile nursing some injuries.
This petrie guy is just trying to perpetuate nike’s con that you cannot achieve athlethic success without their products, which is a load of BS.
A basketball shoe influences performance by maybe 5% max. The other 95% has to come from you not from some cheaply produced shoe.
Give lebron a pair of adidas and he’ll still put up his numbers, he won’t suddenly become a bench player.
I fractured my ankle wearing some pippen Vs. So like you said NW, he should focus on making his own products better
Ricky Rubio & Eric Maynor had the same injuries wearing Nike.
It´s not a shoes business.
They should focus on improve.
Im surprised Petrie would say that. As an aspiring shoe designer I’ve looked at his designs from as early as his alpha project sketches on Niketalk to the Lebron 9 Elite. To me it just seemed unnecessary and completely ridiculous to imply that if Rose was wearing Nikes then tearing an ACL wouldn’t happen. I understand competition but I think people are very hard on Adidas shoes and don’t really give them a chance. Most of my friends only buy Nikes just because they are Nike. Personally I have been liking more and more what Adidas has been doing since the supernatural creators and I would rather play in their stuff than the Nikes of today. I mean JStar brings up a very valid point with Anfernee Hardaway and his injuries and all he wore were Nikes.
Regardless of what this designer or Nike guy or whatever thinks…it’s become very obvious that there is some concern over Adidas shoes. That alone should have statistical relevance. Everyone gets injured we know that…however, the question is not whether or not a shoe or brand can prevent injury (as this writer alluded “instead of taking shots at another brand over an injury your footwear cannot prevent)… the question is whether or not a shoe can be the cause of a player being more susceptible to injury. And to say it cannot, is just naive and foolish, because if that were the case, why even wear name brand shoes at all? All quality of shoes must be the same. Design you say? Oh, ok. People should wear name brand shoes just for the design and not care about performance. Any person who’s ever played any contact sports or non-contact at a NCAA D1 or above level knows with certainty that shoes matter A LOT.
Apparently the most obvious issues with Adidas shoes that no one is really examining close enough is their lack of cushioning. Sorry, but there is no way in hell anyone who plays a lot of anything should be wearing a shoe with a lack of cushioning. That’s just asking for trouble. The reason this goes unchecked is because all players don’t play the same, hence are not at the same risk for wearing similarly flawed shoes. In addition, a lack of cushioning is not something that will immediately cause a problem, so it’s simply deemed “a freak occurence” when there’s an injury versus something that was sped up, made more likely and exacerbated over time. Lack of cushion will chronically eat away at your ankles and knees.
It’s like having two drivers, who have the same exact car and wheels/tires, only one of them drives around sharp corners and much faster than the other. Sure you can switch the tires out, but to think that other stuff is not being affected differently is silly and naive.