Michael Jordan has become the most ubiquitous brand a human being can achieve in sports, but there are still some fans whose image conjures up some bad memories.
First and foremost is the Utah Jazz.
If you need a refresher, Jordan’s Chicago Bulls defeated the Jazz twice in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals, and Jordan averaged 32.4 points per game to help Karl Malone and John Stockton reach the NBA’s highest level. Team. This remains the Utah Jazz’s only two NBA Finals appearances.
Most Jazz fans will still complain about Jordan pushing Byron Russell before his iconic series-winning shot in Game 6 of 1998.
Despite this history, someone at Nike thought it would be a good idea to design a T-shirt that showed Jordan’s Jumpman logo dunking above the Jazz’s name, as one fan spotted in Utah’s official team store.
It’s too bad when the Jazz’s own store sells a shirt depicting a quick recap of the two Finals they lost.
It should be noted that this jersey was not designed specifically for the Jazz. Similar jerseys (featuring the Jumpman logo over the team name) were also made for other teams, including another Jordan nemesis. Utah is one place where complaints are heard as soon as the jerseys arrive in stores, although other places have complained in the past about Jordan’s logo getting bumped into the team’s jerseys.
Days after photos of the jersey began circulating, the Jazz made an apparent move to stop selling the jersey, Andy Larson of the Salt Lake Tribune reports. They probably weren’t quick enough to count as another loss against Jordan.