Brandon Jennings: Nike Scandal
Brandon Jennings was one of those rookies who made great impression that he can play like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. He plays for the then struggling Milwaukee Bucks. When he entered the team he made it a playoff type of a team. His averages were, 19 points, 9 assists and 2 rebounds per game. A not so shabby stats for a rookie. In fact he finished third in the rookie rankings behind Stephen Curry and Tyreke Evans. Thus, he got the attention of Mike krzyzewski.
Along with upcoming superstars like the hot shot, Stephen Curry and the inarguably rookie of the year Tyreke Evans, they were asked by the legendary Coach K to join the training camp for the Team USA. Brandon Jennings showed what he can do. He dished crisps inside assists, ran the floor like anyone else could, did all the workouts that the coaches asked him to do, but unfortunately he wasn't chosen as one of the players who would represent the USA.
It made him to think that there was a sort of biases that has entred the Team USA Camp. He said “It’s not my call. That’s on them,” Jennings told Yahoo! Sports. “But if you want to get technical about it and you really want to look at it, half of the guys there are Nike guys. I’m not saying it’s a Nike thing, but Nike is kind of running a lot of things right now. To have a guy like myself on the USA team that’s flashy and really outgoing, you don’t want Under Armour to get all that [publicity]."
We all know that he signed for the Under Armor Basketball and he can't just wear any other name brand of sports gears. To do so would be a breach of contract.
His statements made his fans think that he deserves better treatment from the Team USA Camp. Because for them, to remove a player, with a calibre like Jennings is to deny him of his right to play and return back the favor for his homeland, the United States of America. It was enough for them to think that Nike has become very influential, more than the brand, they have entered the minds of the coaches.
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