I think it’s possible that Nike is being unfairly demonized more than they deserve in the uniform logos issue.
First, it’s important to know that the memo that was posted yesterday is David Greifinger’s interpretation of events. I don’t have any reason to believe anything he said is inaccurate, but it’s not the same as the National Office admitting “yeah, we’re doing this because Nike told us to.”
Second, I think it’s entirely possible that a lot of this got started by many people (both at Nike and at USATF) being confused about which meets IAAF rules applied to.
My understanding of how this got started is that Nike AND OTHER MAJOR SHOE COMPANIES were not happy with the [IAAF] rules not being enforced at USATF Championships. It is very possible that both Nike and National Office staffers believed that they had an obligation to enforce IAAF uniform rules at USATF National Championships. Had that been true, USATF would have had a duty to enforce them evenly on all competitors. I heard from a LOT of high level administrators and officials that this was fact, it took the words of Bob Hersh to finally clear it up for everyone.
Third, I have heard from many sources that this is not just a Nike issue. Nike plays most prominently into this because they are USATF’s major sponsor, but many people have told me that there are other shoe companies who agree with them and have been vocal about it. I know that there are also shoe companies that don’t agree with them.
The real issues here are not with Nike. Nike is a business and they have a job to make sure their contracts are being properly enforced and to act in their best interest. Nike does a LOT of good for our sport, and alienating them doesn’t help anyone.
The issue is the actions taken by the USATF National Office staffers. They should have properly researched the issue and told Nike that they had no basis to enforce IAAF rules at our national championships. They should have told Nike that Nike athletes are free to wear jerseys with 20 swooshes on them at our national championships and that they can’t control what other athletes wear. They should have assured Nike that they would diligently enforce the contract at any Team USA events, which is where it should be enforced.
It’s entirely possible that this got blown so so so far out of proportion by people making mistakes, and then trying to cover their asses.
The most productive thing moving forward would be to focus on clarifying what USATF is and is not contractually obligated to, and what is in the best interest of both the athletes and the organization as a whole.
The Board of Directors have been given two different interpretations of the issue by two different attorneys. They have an important job ahead of them. The interests of the sponsors they serve and the athletes they serve appear to be in conflict. I’m sure with a little creativity they can make everyone happy.
The other issue is the national office staff making major policy decisions without formal approval of the BOD or any other group within USATF. The organization is designed so that athletes and other groups are represented and get input on decisions that affect them in major ways. While this often makes decisions and processes take forever and a day, it is designed to prevent abuse of power by those in charge.
Things are out of balance right now. Too many decisions are made informally, behind the scenes, off the record, when they should be going through the proper procedures. Too many within the organization do not follow their own rules, bylaws, operating procedures, etc.
This is where the real issue lies, not with Nike.