Nike does damage control after Duke star forward blows out shoe, injures knee

SEATTLE — Mariners Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and former President Barack Obama were on hand to watch what happened to Duke standout Zion Williamson just over 30 seconds into their game against North Carolina on Wednesday, Feb. 20.

The Duke star blowing out his shoe is what everyone on a basketball court at Green Lake was talking about.

"I think that people are going to be questioning whether they're going to choose Nike over a different brand,” Brianna Gorter said.

"We shouldn't actually just look into that one matter and say we should not just buy Nike because of that one incident, you know,” said Remon Neyanny.

KIRO 7 reached out to Nike, and the company released this statement:

"We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue."

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​Nike's stock was down by 1 percent Thursday, Feb. 21.

"That's a big hit. One percent of part of their business? They're major,” Ngan Do, owner of Recess Sneaker Boutique in Seattle, said. “They're like (the) leading manufacturer, you know, of athletic shoes."

Recess Sneaker Boutique sells some of the most popular Nikes like the Air Jordan IIIs and the IVs.

"(The Air Jordan IVs are) super popular and very iconic,” said Do. “(They) originally came out in 1989, and these are the 2012 retros."

Duke's biggest star sprained his knee when his shoe fell apart. This is one of the most high-profile apparel failures in basketball history.

"I think that they can come back from it as long as they do their homework and make sure they double-check their shoes," Gorter said.

"This is a big story in the Northwest,” said Do. “Nike is Northwest."

Cox Media Group