The legendary American sprinter, who competed in five world titles and two Olympic gold medals, felt “let down” by Nike when they denied a few of his requests. As a result, he left the company to join Adidas.
The legendary American sprinter Maurice Greene has revealed why, in his prime sprinting competition days, he chose Adidas over Nike.
In an interview with Rodney Greene and Justin Gatlin on the Ready Set Go YouTube channel, Maurice Greene discussed his contentious journey from one of the biggest athletic conglomerates to its most formidable rival.
When the three men had the talk, they were seated next to British icon Linford Christie and Asafa Powell.
Back in 2002, Greene was at the peak of his career. As a multiple-time world record holder and Olympic champion, he expected Nike to reward his accomplishments with a lucrative contract renewal. However, when negotiations began in December 2001, the company offered him less than half of the $1 million he requested.
Even more frustrating for Greene was Nike’s refusal to name a line of shoes in his honor, despite his numerous achievements while wearing their gear.
“You gotta understand, Nike had nothing for the 100 meters. I was the first to break the world record in their shoe, to win a world championship in their shoe, to win Olympic gold in their shoe. I was the first to do everything,” Greene explained.
Greene’s discontent grew when he learned that Nike had named a shoe after Bob Kennedy, a 5,000-meter runner who was ranked 41st in the world in 2001. Despite Kennedy’s historic feat of being the first white man to break 13 minutes for 5,000 meters, Greene felt overlooked and disrespected by the company.
“Okay, I want a certain amount of money, I want to get my own shoe, and I want to be in three commercials a year,” I said when it came time to negotiate. However, they turned down every request,” Greene recalled.
The last straw was when Adidas extended Greene everything he had requested, including a lucrative contract and his own line of signature apparel and footwear, in an attempt to profit from Nike’s gaffe. Greene made the shocking choice to quit Nike, which shocked the whole sports community.
“You either take this or leave it, but Adidas came in and said, ‘We gonna do this and that,’ and I was like, ‘I’m out.’”
Nike released a statement apologizing for the issue after Greene’s departure, obviously hurt. According to Beth Hedge, a Nike spokesperson, “to suggest Nike did not treat him in the proper manner is categorically incorrect,” as stated by The Guardian. “It’s unfortunate Maurice feels this way about Nike, but we continue to wish him well.”
