Crisis Case Study: "Shoegate"
- baileycdoyle
- Apr 9, 2022
- 3 min read
I will be completing my crisis case study on the Nike incident involving Zion Williamson. I am interested in this case because I think it is interesting to see how fashion/lifestyle companies recover from something like their product failing-in front of the whole world. Social media has the power to negatively amplify cases like this, so it is interesting to see how companies respond and deal with these situations. Analyzing cases like this better equip me for how to deal with similar situations in the future.
On February 20, 2019- 33 seconds into one of the most anticipated college basketball games of all time, Zion Williamson injured himself due to a Nike shoe malfunction. Reported by the Washington Post, Williamson planted his left foot hard into the floor, and the cloth side of his shoe ripped clean away from the sole- causing him to fall to the floor and clutch his right knee. He was out for the rest of the game. Prior to this, Williamson had signed a five year contract with Nike, worth $75 million-which at the time, was one of the highest paying contracts for an NBA rookie.
This event was quickly captured and spread among social media, causing a great scandal about Nike as a brand, many naming it “Shoegate.” By the next day, Nike was feeling the impact of the incident and the company's stock closed down 89 cents at $83.95- a $1.1 billion drop in market value. This was seen as a major brand failure on Nikes part, and they were quick to make a statement saying, “We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery, the quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
There are two things about this statement that I would like to point out. The first being the world “obviously.” Something about that word being used in a situation like this seems wrong. While Nike wants to make it known that they care about Zion and his recovery, I think wording it differently could have been of benefit to them. The word obviously can make your statement seem disingenuous and nonchalant. I think saying something like, “We want to wish Zion a speedy recovery and fast journey back to health” would have been more appropriate for the situation.
Another thing that I don't like about that statement is, “While this is an isolated occurrence” After a quick search on the internet, similar cases immediately come up, proving that this is not an isolated occurrence. In 2016, another NBA player’s shoe tore open and many other basketball players have experienced a shoe malfunction. Nike took no further action on the case and released a different campaign soon after- taking attention away from the situation.
In a case like this, it is important that Nike take action, apologize entirely, take ownership, and move forward with purpose. Their statement did not seem like they were taking full ownership of the situation and I think a lot more could have been done in terms of ensuring this does not happen again. They ultimately have a very large customer base, and have a strong brand reputation regardless of their past scandals. Because of this, I don't think they feel as though their reputation was tarnished during this incident- prompting them to put in minimal effort in terms of resolving it. I think they did an okay job in the situation by responding quickly, and apologizing but they definitely should have followed up and named steps for how they will improve the quality of their products.
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