Caitlin Clark debuted her signature Nike sneakers in the Fever’s 101-108 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Thursday. The two-time All-Star walked into Gainbridge Fieldhouse while holding her new sneakers.
Nike took their time in releasing the Fever star’s signature sneaker. They unveiled Clark’s logo in August, and it took 10 months for fans to get a first look at the two-time All-Star’s signature sneaker.
On Thursday, Steve Kim from Jason Whitlock’s “Fearless” podcast criticized Nike for the delay.
“They put pandering over profits,” he said. “Let’s say they would have immediately released an Air Caitlin, then a large marketing campaign, you have billboards, you put up an internet campaign… You do commercials. A’ja Wilson and her ilk would have been the first ones complaining about ‘we never got that marketing push.'”
Later, Kim criticized Clark for choosing Nike over other options.
“When you go to Nike, especially when you are still a women’s basketball player, you are just another cog in that machine and you are already gonna have a pecking order,” he said. “You know Nike’s history. They play the pandering game. So you already knew Caitlin Clark; that may not have been the best spot for her.”
The first images of the Nike Caitlin 1s show the sneaker had a wavy design across the body. It featured a royal blue hue throughout the shoe, with the Fever star’s logo housed in the tongue. The shoes are scheduled to hit the shelves on October 1st and will retail for $140 a pair.
Jason Whitlock flames Nike for blowing a ‘golden opportunity’ with Caitlin Clark’s signature sneakers
Earlier in his podcast, Jason Whitlock fired shots at Nike for delaying the release of Caitlin Clark’s shoes. He credited Clark’s race and heterosexuality for the brand’s decision.
“Nike blew a golden opportunity,” he said. “Caitlin Clark was best for business and best for everybody. They’re not doing what’s best for business.”
“No Nike shoe her senior year in college. No Nike shoe when she’s a rookie in the WNBA. Why are they running down a shoe now that Caitlin Clark’s popularity is clearly waning?… Clark being a white heterosexual woman, she didn’t have the right sexual arousal. She didn’t have the right skin color.”
Clark scored 26 points, recorded two rebounds and dished out seven assists in her sneaker debut game. The Fever will play the Dream again on the road on Friday.
Edited by Avi Shravan
