Nike could be preparing to cut ties with Ja Morant
Controversy delayed the release of Ja Morant’s first Nike signature. Now a new incident could end his deal entirely.
After Morant was suspended for eight games after showing a gun on his Instagram Live, Nike pushed back the release of the JA 1.
Now, the Grizzlies have suspended Morant from all team activities after a second Instagram gun incident. And Nike appears to have pulled Morant’s shoes off their website and app.
If this sounds familiar, it’s also what Nike did after Kyrie Irving shared a link to an antisemitic film last fall. Nike canceled his upcoming signature shoe and asked shoe stores to remove Irving’s most recent signature shoe, the Kyrie 8.
A month later, Nike ended its partnership with Irving 11 months before his contract was up, despite Irving’s shoes remaining wildly popular. Nike co-founder Phil Knight told CNBC, “Kyrie stepped over the line. It’s kind of that simple.”
Now it appears that Morant is on his way out at Nike as well, having stepped over the line multiple times in the past year, on social media and in real life.
The incidents definitely cost Morant an All-NBA spot — and an extra $39 million that would have come with it. Now it looks like they’ve cost him his Nike deal as well.
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