Nike fails to medal
A tough few months culminates in an Olympic-sized miss
Hello dearest readers! Another atypical post from Dunk Day, I promise I’m continuing to work on that elusive dunk and should have some good updates shortly! In the meantime, indulge me in something a little bit different.
Today, I wanted to discuss something that I haven’t been able to shake in the last few days. Like most of the world, I’ve had my attention on Paris with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (the technical name is pretty great, can’t lie). As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten better at enjoying sports for the journey instead of the destination (much of what this Substack tends to be about!) and being less fixated on binary results like winning or losing, championship season or just another season.
The Olympics tend to be a culmination of that thesis, bringing together athletes from every corner of the world, with some of the best stories in sports. Caleb Dressel and Simone Biles are returning to the Olympics after personal struggles, and the French swimming phenom Léon Marchand has been incredibly successful prior to his Olympic debut, as a result he now faces the highest pressure possible with the expectations of the host nation pressing down on him (he’s already meeting those expectations by the way). The Opening Ceremony was incredible, with highlights including a 100 year old torch bearer, Charles Coste, and Celine Dion absolutely crushing it from the Eiffel Tower, extra notable as she battles a rare neurological disorder. With so much ongoing strife throughout the world, the Olympics serve as a beautiful juxtaposition; it’s truly the best of humanity on display through sport.
Which is why I have greatly struggled with Nike’s latest ad, posted here if you have somehow avoided it thus far. Or maybe it’s only an American campaign, that wouldn’t be a surprising update in the slightest. The rest of the post won’t make a lot of sense without it so take a look!
Intense, right? The voice you’re hearing is that of Willem Dafoe, which is perfect because it sounds exactly like something the Green Goblin would be all about.
Therein lies the problem. Obviously, no complaints about athletes finding a level of drive, obsession, delusion, etc. that just aren’t relatable to the rest of us. To get to this stage, you need some level of that. But do we need to think of Olympians as villains? As pyschos obsessed with being the GOAT?
As we’re all aware, the nature of competition is that there is a winner, and there is everyone else. My question is, why is this the headline that Nike is leaning on?
Qualifying for the Olympics is the culmination for a lifetime of work. It is an honor reserved for the elite in their field, and focusing on just the winning or losing as the outcome of these games is to diminish the work that went into that journey. The tens of thousands of hours spent practicing and competing, honing their craft, to be with the very best in the world, should be (and for the most part is!) the focus. This is the crowning achievement of a lifetime of work, and failing to win to the rest of the best shouldn’t where our collective attention is drawn.
It is especially interesting for this message to be coming from Nike at this time, as they really aren’t winning their own competition. A quick summary of Nike’s struggles off the top of my head, with linked articles to support:
Stock price down nearly 32% year-to-date
Losing market share to brands like On Cloud, New Balance, and even Skechers
MLB jersey fiasco, including this quote from a memo sent to players
"This has been entirely a Nike issue," the memo to players read. "At its core, what has happened here is that Nike was innovating something that didn't need to be innovated."
The Olympics themselves have included issues for the Swoosh
Kevin Durant, Team USA men’s basketball all-time leading scorer, was left off of this ad campaign. He had no problem going after the brand that he’s signed a lifetime contract with on social media, as he is wont to do.
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtic world champion and 2024 NBA Finals MVP, called out Nike after being left off of the Olympic roster. Insult to injury, his own teammate Derrick White was named to the team after Kawhi Leonard was removed for an injury. Brown, a sneaker free agent, has been critical of Nike in the past and floated the idea that the sponsor played a part in keeping him off the roster
Phew! Things aren’t looking great for the swoosh, and if you’re going to make these next few weeks zoomed in on winning, I want to see you practice what you preach.
Let’s hear from Nike CMO Lauren Graham on this campaign:
"This is about celebrating the voice of the athlete. It tells the tale of what it takes to be the (G.O.A.T) greatest of all time, the unformed legacies that still exist, as well as the hopes that will come true. The legacies that have yet to be shaped. And the dreams that will be made real. It reminds the world that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to win."
Sure, that’s great. I have no problem with the Mamba Mentality, and if you watched The Last Dance, you know that Jordan would do whatever it takes to win (sorry, Steve Kerr, getting punched in the face probably sucked). But the focus on winning takes away from the joy in the journey and how life-giving sports can be.
I’m sure this isn’t a hot take, but I love seeing the small countries, some of which aren’t always top of mind in this large world, and their representative athletes. Here’s a nice article summarizing athletes by nation and by population. It’s a great story when one of these longshot countries and athletes medal, but again, that shouldn’t be the point. The point is the world can come together in a peaceful, celebratory way for at least a few weeks, and that can’t be taken for granted or understated right now.
One other problem - what is the takeaway supposed to be for us non-Olympians? Winning isn’t for everyone, and I won’t win anything at that level in my life. So if I can’t win, should I just not compete? I’d like to be a good person, and if my options are that or winning, do I stay away from sports? I hate to think about the guys I play pickup hoops with living this motto, I’d need to find a new gym.
Winning is part of sports and there’s no issue in pursuing greatness, but if we have to be villains to get there, I’m out.
Thanks, as always, for jammin with me. Go enjoy the Olympics, and enjoy the the celebration and all the good that comes with it. I’ll leave you with an ad that leans into that, I find myself baffled that a piece from Dick’s Sporting Goods can get me emotional, and yet, that’s the power of the Olympics. Leave the being a villain to win at all costs to someone else and enjoy the journey!