Nike Chair & CEO Phil Knight was profiled by Beverly
Schuch on CNN's "Pinnacle." Knight discussed a wide range
of topics, including Tiger Woods, who Knight says "is going
to rewrite the record books as far as sports marketing is
concerned." Knight: "Everybody for the last ten years has
been looking for the next Michael Jordan, and they were
looking on the basketball court, and he was walking down the
fairway all the time. ... one of the reasons Tiger Woods
came with us was because of our relationship and what we had
done with the Michael Jordan endorsement." Knight, on
Nike's competition: "I hate all my competitors, I don't want
to like them. ... I want to see them as the enemy, because
basically they are. Essentially, they take market share
away from us, we have to let employees go, our ambitions and
our dreams are cut back. So I don't want to like them." On
Nike's deal with the Cowboys: "We did wake up the NFL with
our agreement two years ago with the Dallas Cowboys, but it
didn't help their salary cap, and believe me, that's been
investigated thoroughly." On allegations of operating
sweatshops overseas: "We take a lot of criticism about that,
and I guess it makes a good soundbite to contrast Michael
Jordan's pay or my net worth with an Indonesian worker
that's making five dollars a day. ... We think as far as the
kind of factories in the countries that we operate in, that
they will meet any kind of standards. We think we win that
battle." On his future: "I hope I die at Nike, but not
soon" ("Pinnacle," CNN, 2/1).
