Michael Jordan built the Air Jordan Brand alongside with Nike to be all-inclusive of whoever wanted to wear their brand. Jordan, being a black man himself, made shoes and apparel that could be rocked by kids who might’ve felt under-represented. So, him cutting ties with Nike due to transphobia seems unlikely.
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Jordan and Nike first collaborated in 1984 when the latter pried his eyes away from Adidas with an incredible pitch meeting. He would go on to sign the most unprecedented shoe contract for hid time, getting $500,000 a year for 5 years along with royalties and stock in the company.
Nike, over the years, has had a plethora of athletes and celebrities endorse Jordan Brand. Regardless of what creed, caste, color, or sexuality you are, the brand embraces it all. There was however, a rumor floating around regarding MJ’s future with the company due to a certain endorsement they received.
Did Michael Jordan end his relationship with Nike?
A Twitter by the name of ‘Trump_24_47’ took to the social media platform to share news regarding Michael Jordan and his relationship with Nike. The user claimed that the 6x NBA champion ended his relationship with them due to being endorsed by a member of the transgender community, Dylan Mulvaney.
View this post on Instagram
Good for Michael Jordan‼️
Mike ends his partnership with Nike over the man child who likes to pretend he’s a female.
I truly hope Nike, AB, & every other sponsorship that has signed the man child looses a shit ton of money or goes out of business. #TranswomanAreConMen pic.twitter.com/1jwCBlsw0n
— ミ★s_ℳ_Ᏸіᥴһᥱs★彡 (@Trump_24_47) April 19, 2023
The article the user put in place however, had no credible citations whatsoever and could not be considered credible because of it. there has been no official news regarding any change in development of the relationship between Michael’s Jordan Brand and Nike.
It can only be assumed that ‘Trump_24_47’ fell victim to an internet hoax. Many of the replies underneath the Tweet were in fact rejoicing at the notion that Nike and Michael had cut ties with one another due to this reason.
In 2023, it’s very unlikely for a brand as large and magnanimous as Nike to make a decision based solely off of wanting to ostracize a certain community. Given that Jordan Brand generates over $10 billion in revenue every year, them taking such a stance would sure result in their sales plummeting due to cancellation.
