Nike frantically investigated LeBron James' Torn Jersey during the Cavs vs. Celtics on NBA opening night. For the first time in the regular season, players are wearing the Nike brand uniforms after the company outbid Adidas in what is said to be an 8-year contract with the NBA. Nike has not released a statement about the incident, but it's drawing plenty of attention after a similar incident happened to Lakers player Tyler Ennis.
LeBron James' wardrobe malfunction
The wardrobe malfunction happened during the fourth quarter of the Cavs vs. Celtics with 46.3 seconds left in the game.
While it was not intentional, Jaylen Brown grabbed LeBron James' jersey while trying to defend him. The jersey ripped in between the numbers 2 & 3 on James' jersey, exposing his white tank top worn underneath the uniform. Analysts say, the incident should have been called as a foul, but the referees thought otherwise.
The torn jersey, on the other hand, is enjoying its own popularity as reports reveal that it has been put in an auction. According to the ABC report, the jersey is now worth $7,960 and is expected to rise until the auction closes on October 28, 2017. Proceeds will be given to the hurricane-relief efforts. This is not the first we've seen Nike having problems with its apparel. In 2014, Manu Ginobili's Nike shoes were torn apart in a middle of a play.
LeBron's shoes also failed him when they skidded and left skid marks on the floor.
Nike and its biggest endorser
It's ironic that such jersey malfunction happened to Nike's biggest and most active endorsers. While the incident understandably exists even in other sports, the brand is evaluating the series of incidents that could affect the trust of the masses on the quality of Nike items.
Nike is said to have struck a deal with the NBA, amounting to $1 billion. Meanwhile, Adidas remained the official NBA apparel until last summer's offseason. Nike, however, will only provide the uniforms without the labels. It's up to the teams to involve their own vendor to custom-stitch everything on the jerseys.
According to Nike, the uniforms have "wick sweat 30 percent faster than the previous jerseys made by Adidas," and this is all brought by its Alpha Yarns and recycled polyester technology.
As for the fabric of the uniforms, "The company used jerseys of a similar makeup for last year's Summer Olympics in Brazil and with some select college basketball teams during last season with no issues," ABC reports.
