Remember that iconic moment when Jordan signed for Nike? Matt Damon immortalised it with his scene in the movie ‘Air’, but let’s be real. That moment has long been iconic. Most thought a deal like that couldn’t finish right? And just like that, the partnership ends? This was the 40th celebration year of the iconic partnership between the Michael Jordan brand and Nike. Back in February, they did an ‘Unbannable campaign’ to highlight the story of the Air Jordan 1. This deal not only changed the fortunes of MJ alone, but all athletes, all over the sport, all over the world, can now demand a ‘royalties’ deal to earn money. Last year, the reported income for His Airness from this deal was over $300 million. But how true is the end? Well, we’ll tell you in a bit…

Currently, the issues at hand have also been prevalent for Nike, ever since the tariff issues. Despite switching the strategy of shifting their manufacturing units away from China, the issue of tariffs remained. They found safer ground in Southeast Asia, but the tariff issues will hit those markets too. Vietnam was slammed with a 46 percent tariff rate, Cambodia got 49 percent, Bangladesh 37 percent, and Indonesia 32 percent. So, is this the reason that finally broke the camel’s back?

Apparently not, and it’s not the first time that the brand and MJ’s issues have been aired for some views. Earlier this year, a website that publishes satirical content said in January that basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan cut ties with Nike. Soon, different social media users months later reshared the claim as if real. Yes, the majority of them conveniently forget to add satire/parody while reporting this news. One such example is also trending on the list.

A post on Instagram featured a caption, “Michael Jordan reportedly cuts ties with nike over controversial pride jordans. Follow @neoo.man for more!” Moreover, the photo of the position also featured a fabricated quote from Michael Jordan. The former Chicago Bulls star had cut ties with Nike and quoted him as saying: “My name won’t be used for wokeness.” Again, any word about this is completely untrue. And it’s not the first time such a situation has taken place.

Tracing the key social media activity that led to the fake Michael Jordan viral remark

We all have heard about NBA Centel and how famous celebrities/NBA players fell for the parody accounts’ views. The instance has occurred so many times that Kevin Durant coined the term “you got centel’d”. This means a person fell for the fake news from the X account. But this Air Jordan story is not from that account, but an actual website that runs parody headlines and stories.

The claim dates to an article from January 2, “Michael Jordan Cancels Nike Deal Over Pride Jordans: ‘My Name Won’t Be Used for Wokeness,’” which was published on the Esspots website. The website featured more quotes from MJ, which were untrue. “I refuse to let my identity be used to push a political message I don’t support.” While reading at first glance, no one can really tell the difference if it’s real and fake.

But right as the article ends, there is this message “NOTE: This is SATIRE, It’s Not True.” So, it’s completely possible many fans would have clicked off the website by the end and didn’t bother to check the source of the news. Similarly, the social media posts also failed to add any hint about this story being a parody/ fake news.