More Proof that Nike is Evil

[Prog]

Came across this on my daily trip to UniWatch. This is a letter that was posted on Iowa State's web site.

Link to letter

Dear fellow Cyclones:

This past year the athletics department made the decision to return to Iowa State University’s traditional school colors of cardinal and gold (as adopted by the institution in 1899). Although we are very excited about returning to these colors, we also recognize this decision is not something that can be fully implemented overnight. It is our goal to have all of our athletics teams in the same shade of cardinal and gold, that represents our proud history and tradition, as soon as possible.

The purpose of this letter is to share several updates on the transition. Nike, our equipment provider, has designated the football and men’s and women’s track programs in their “elite” uniform division which means those sport’s uniforms are custom made in the colors we want (for example, what is being worn by the football team this season).

Unfortunately, Nike has not designated our other teams in that same category at this point, mainly due to our institution’s overall lack of retail merchandise sales. We are continuing to work with Nike on this issue and are optimistic that we can resolve it in the future.

In the interim, our other athletics teams, including men’s and women’s basketball, must select their uniforms and warm-ups from Nike's stock colors. Nike's stock cardinal color is darker than our football uniforms, and in some cases appears burgundy or maroon. In addition, Nike does not provide uniforms for spirit squads, dance teams or bands. Each of those programs has to order their uniforms from separate companies, which makes obtaining the proper shade of cardinal even more difficult for our department.

In closing, we simply ask you to have patience and understanding as we complete the transition.

Go Cyclones!

Sincerely,


Jamie Pollard
Director of Athletics

[3dR3]

go Cards!

F Nike

[Securb]

When did a bunch of football player start worrying about which shade of maroon they are wearing, yes Nike are evil for their child labor practices. But the Cyclones are a bunch of homos.

[Prog]

No. The school signs a deal with Nike to provide all of their athletic uniforms. They hand them their colors and Nike goes "well, you don't sell that much stuff, so we'll just let a couple of teams have those colors. The rest have to pick from what we have." It's not that big a deal to mix colors. Why can't Nike use the actual colors of the school? Imagine if they did this with a pro team. "We don't have that exact shade, but we'll give you something close enough." Teams and schools and even most businesses are very exact in what their colors are and a supplier gets to dictate what they will and will not make. What if you went to a resturant and ordered a nice steak and they gave you a hamburger patty and told you "close enough, it's beef."

Plus, Iowa State wants to present a good image to potential athletes. You don't want to look like a bunch of misfits because no two teams are wearing the same colors. You know schools like Michigan and Ohio State don't deal with this BS.

[3dR3]

I think this is about as close to a fashion discussion TMR has ever had...

You know Nike, sometimes it's about helping an athletic department....