Under the header "Sneaker Wars," Chris Smith of NEW
YORK examined Nike and adidas' relationship with high school
basketball in the N.Y. area. Smith: "There's a sneaker war
raging in high school hoops. ... Forget 'Catholic school' or
'public school' teams; the important identifier is whether
squads have chosen sides as a 'Nike school' or an 'Adidas
school.'" The dozen adidas schools and the seven Nike
schools in the area "typically receive 45 pairs of shoes and
a like number of T-shirts, hats, bags, and warmups, for a
team of about 15 kids." But such "corporate largesse
arrives with some significant price tags: Coaches develop
loyalties to shoe companies instead of the school principal.
... And there is the murkier moral question about turning
teenage athletes into an extension of an ad campaign."
Adidas' Sonny Vaccaro: "Sure, this business is a cesspool.
It should be cleaned up." One high school coach on Nike's
influence: "The next time the U.S. goes to war, I'll bet the
troops will be wearing Nike helmets." But NEW YORK's Smith
notes that when budget cuts "wiped out" junior-varsity
sports in NYC two years ago, Nike donated $100,000. Nike
spokesperson Vizhier Corpuz: "We're protecting our own base.
But we're also protecting sports" (NEW YORK, 3/3 issue).
