The saga continues. In a statement released earlier today, Nike has agreed to give back two of the video tapes they confiscated a few weeks back of the now infamous dunk by Xavier Sophomore Jordan Crawford on NBA superstar Lebron James at a basketball skills camp in Akron, Ohio. Both tapes will be returned to the accredited journalists who filmed them. As to the reason for the change of heart? Nike remains mum. Or, at least, avoids the question.
From their statement, “It was never about the play or the player, it was always about our media policy. The interest in the tapes has greatly overshadowed the focus of the camp, which is to help young athletes improve their skills, and that is regrettable. It was Nike’s decision to take these tapes based on our media guidelines, which we will continue to enforce.”
From what I can gather, Nike is still defending their actions, but giving no real reason as to why they are now returning the tapes, except a vague concern of the situation overshadowing the camp’s goals? I’m not sure. What I am sure about, though, is that unofficial videos – taken by fans in the stands – were released two days ago. Maybe, now that the cat is out of the bag, Nike wants some claim to the action? Sounds reasonable.
And really, even if Nike is only acting in their own self-interest, some better quality videos would, indeed, be welcome. Because, as of now, the two videos currently circulating the internet are very low quality and far from the scene of the action. And after all the pent up excitement to see the videos, the low-quality shots only led to an unsurprising disappointment. You know, “That was it?” type reactions. So hopefully these new videos can put the issue to rest.
Was it an all-out two-handed slam on the self proclaimed King of Basketball, worthy of our awe and attention? Or just a lucky break in a game of pickup, blown out of proportion by the shady dealings of Nike? The answer, should be, coming soon.
Final theory – Nike just signed a contract with Jordan Crawford and wants to use the video to increase his visibility? Unlikely, sure, but I’ve heard of worse.
In the meantime, here’s the sideline videos for now. I’ll be sure to update the post, though, once the real videos surface.
TMZ’s version:
hopefully Nike sticks to their word – these current videos are pretty terrible
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