Sneaker news doesn't often make it to the pages of The New York Times, but when NBA Draft prospect Zion Williamson’s Nike shoes fell apart during the February 20 Duke-UNC game, it became a national talking-point. Since then, Nike has been getting roasted online, and now Skechers has joined the onslaught. Today, March 3, the California-based footwear brand took out an ad in The New York Times' Sunday edition which reads "Just Blew It." The play on Nike's slogan is followed by "Skechers – We won't split on you." The ad shows an image of the offending sneakers, torn through at the sole in exactly the same way as Williamson's pair. Skechers also placed the ad in USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Skechers wasn't the only sneaker brand to see PR potential in Williamson’s misfortune. PUMA, in a now-deleted tweet, claimed the incident “wouldn’t have happened in the pumas.” They posted as Williamson was taken off court. Footage from the game shows the 18-year-old player as his left Nike PG 2.5 sneaker spontaneously falls apart just 34 seconds into the first quarter, causing the 6'7", 285-pound forward to slip, fall, and injure himself. As Duke is a Nike-sponsored school, Williamson is required to wear Nike shoes throughout the season. He was expected to be the top pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and so his recovery is being closely watched, particularly by Nike.<doc-sep>Zion Williamson, a Duke University basketball star, suffered a knee sprain last month when his Nike PG 2.5 sneaker blew out in the middle of the game. Nike’s stock fell, and sneakerheads freaked out. Puma deleted a tweet gloating that the blowout would not have have occurred had Williamson been wearing its shoes, but the sneaker company Skechers took it several steps further this weekend, running an ad in the New York Times and elsewhere. In the ad, the phrase “Just blew it” appears in large type above a photo of shoes resembling Williamson’s damaged pair. Beneath them is the Skechers logo with the promise, “We won’t split on you.” According to Esquire, the average lifespan of an athletic shoe ranges from about six months for running and other high-impact activities to a year or so for, say, weightlifting. Skechers doesn’t have a strong presence on college or professional basketball courts, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t want to. Last year the company sued Adidas for denying competitors a fair chance to sign promotional contracts with high school and college basketball programs. It is also no stranger to controversy. In 2013 the Federal Trade Commission ordered Skechers to pay a $40 million settlement for having “deceptively advertised its toning shoes, including making unfounded claims that its Shape-up shoes would help people lose weight, and strengthen and tone their buttocks, legs and abdominal muscles,” according to CNN. Skechers sent over 500,000 refund checks to customers who had purchased Shape-ups after celebrity-studded ads—including a 2011 Super Bowl ad starring Kim Kardashian—touted the sneakers’ toning and calorie burning qualities.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>The buzz surrounding fallout from Zion Williamson's much talked about Nike sneaker blowout has quieted down a bit, but sneaker company Skechers is fanning the flames once again. First reported by New York Times editor Josh Crutchmer, Skechers has taken an ad out in Sunday's edition of the paper, in which it takes a direct shot at the incident. A non-branded version of Williamson's destroyed PG 2.5s is depicted in the ad, beneath the phrase "Just Blew It" – a play on Nike's trademarked slogan. The ad concludes with Skechers' logo and the statement, "We won't split on you." i usually wouldn’t implore you to buy the paper for an ad, but you’ll never see shade like [squints] skechers is throwing at nike on page 3 of tomorrow’s nyt sports section again pic.twitter.com/wu9tQGacrf — Josh Crutchmer (@jcrutchmer) March 2, 2019 The ad is also being ran in publications such as USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and sponsored posts on Instagram. USA Today ad. Well played Skechers. pic.twitter.com/353tLvBgft — Don Jones (@DonnyJ44) March 2, 2019 Skechers just coming for necks now @SKECHERSUSA pic.twitter.com/nbvxMEbn7x — Ryan Murphy (@RyanMurphy108) March 2, 2019 Skechers and Nike have been at odds for several years, mostly due to various infringement lawsuits. While Skechers currently markets performance sneakers, it does not have a sneaker officially being worn at the pro or collegiate level.<doc-sep>
Skechers has joined the internet in roasting Nike after the latter's shoe infamously exploded around Zion Williamson's foot in the Feb. 20 Duke-UNC game. Skechers — which, it should be noted, doesn't sponsor any notable NBA stars — took out an ad in The New York Times' Sunday edition with the caption "Just Blew It" and a picture of torn sneakers. MORE: Nike 'concerned' for Williamson after injury i usually wouldn’t implore you to buy the paper for an ad, but you’ll never see shade like [squints] skechers is throwing at nike on page 3 of tomorrow’s nyt sports section again pic.twitter.com/wu9tQGacrf — Josh Crutchmer (@jcrutchmer) March 2, 2019 This isn't the first time Skechers has been in the news for interacting with another shoe company. The group also filed a lawsuit against Adidas in May, claiming its role in the college basketball recruiting scandal put Skechers at a disadvantage in signing top NBA prospects. OK. Nike, meanwhile, has been getting roasted ever since Williamson's shoe exploded and the freshman left the Duke-UNC game with a knee injury. It likely will be some time before Nike gets over this incident, and certainly not until Williamson returns from injury (he will miss Saturday's game against Miami). Puma was the first rival shoe company to take a crack at Nike, tweeting — and then deleting — that such a freak accident wouldn't happen in Pumas. Nike's stock value also plummeted in the wake of the injury, costing the company a reported $1.1 billion. None of that, though, will compare to the indignity of getting roasted by a company whose most notable feature is a velcro strap.