Michael Jordan stayed loyal to Nike despite having to wear another sport brand.
Michael Jordan showed the ultimate act of loyalty to Nike during the 1992 Olympics gold medal ceremony.
Jordan won two NBA championships with Chicago Bulls before leading the USA team in Barcelona.
They assembled a ‘Dream Team’, which featured active players from the NBA – including main man Jordan.
Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird and Scottie Pippen were among the other star names making up the men’s basketball team at the 1992 Olympics.
Needless to say, the ‘Dream Team’ went all the way, beating Croatia in the gold medal match-up.
With the star-studded squad, naturally, Team USA’s attire was going for big dollar.
Reebok reportedly paid a staggering $4 million for the rights to their jackets and the country’s Olympic Committee made it clear that winners had to accept medals while wearing the Reebok-branded clothing.
A dilemma for many of the players, including Jordan, who boasted an individual contract with Nike.
He became synonymous with Nike and built his own iconic ‘Air Jordan’ line of sneakers in a landmark shoe deal that transcended the sport.
At the time, Jordan said: “[They] said if we don’t wear our uniforms, we can’t accept our gold medal.”
It became apparent that none of the players who had other lucrative sponsorship deals weren’t prepared to don a rival brand in front of millions of viewers.
As they went up to the podium to collect their gold medals, all 12 players unzipped their jackets so that the collars got in the way of the Reebok logo.
Jordan, however, completely coveted the Reebok logo with the American flag.
Michael Jordan on the podium at the 1992 Olympics. Image: Getty
“They can’t hide it like I’m gonna hide it,” said Jordan. “They in for a big f**king surprise.”
Magic and Barkley copied Jordan’s tactic of using the flag to cover the Reebok logo.
“Us Nike guys are loyal to Nike because they pay us a lot of money,” said Barkley, at the time. “I have 2 million reasons not to wear Reebok.”
