The Real Reason Michael Jordan Was Fined For Wearing Air Jordans
Back in the before times, in an age called the 1980s and '90s, there was a force of athletic excellence named Michael Jordan. The man ruled the court with grace and skill that has yet to be duplicated. He was so profoundly good at basketball that nobody seemed to mind when he went on TV and hawked Big Macs, despite what should've been a jarring juxtaposition between a vitruvian sportsman and a burger with meat made out of reconstituted Lucky Charms marshmallows.
And Jordan's affinity for the entrepreneurial didn't stop at the Golden Arches. Across his career, he would lend his likeness to spots for undershirts, soda pops, breakfast cereals, and, for 88 beautiful minutes in 1996, an attempt at re-legitimizing the Bugs Bunny stable of characters. Most iconically, he served as the name and face of Nike's Air Jordan, a multi-billion dollar line of athletic wear with a notorious place in basketball history. Legend has it that the original Air Jordan sneakers, designed specifically for the superstar, were banned by the NBA.
Was it because they were too awesome? Too capable of propelling a player across the paint like so much Flubber? Why would an organization without a rule saying dogs can't play basketball have one about Air Jordans?
Aw dunk
They didn't.
The urban legend goes that Michael wouldn't stop wearing his black and red Air Jordans on the court, despite the NBA's "uniformity of uniforms rule" stating that white and black shoes be worn during games. The league would fine Jordan $5000 every time that he donned the kicks, and Nike would reimburse him.
And if it had happened, it would've been a hoot, but it seems like more of a marketing shenanigan than anything. According to Sole Collector, Jordan was asked politely not to wear his black and red Nike Air Ships after lacing them up for a preseason game against the New York Knicks, but never wore Air Jordans during an NBA game.
With rumors buzzing, Nike and Jordan teamed up to create an ad campaign insinuating that Air Jordan shoes gave their owners an unfair advantage, and that they had been banned as a result. Between the genius advertising and the presence of the world's most well known athlete, the shoes went on to become a mattress stuffed with money for all involved, and have stayed that way for nearly 30 years.