How many Nike jerseys have to rip before somebody does something about it? We’re less than a month into the 2017-18 NBA season, Nike’s first season as the NBA’s official jersey partner, and we’ve already had a handful of ripping incidents. LeBron James’ jersey ripped on the NBA’s opening night, and that was followed up by Draymond Green’s jersey getting destroyed in his scuffle with Bradley Beal, and Ben Simmons having his jersey completely demolished thanks to Lance Stephenson.
Kevin Love’s jersey shared a similar fate on Sunday during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ matchup with the Atlanta Hawks. In fairness to the new jerseys, Love did this to himself in a manner that might indicate he watches too much wrestling.
Love’s history as a WWE fan is well documented. Love infamously celebrated the Cavaliers’ 2016 NBA Championship wearing an ‘Austin 3:16’ shirt, and his WWE obsession infected the entire Cleveland locker room. As recently as LeBron James’ 2017 Halloween party, Love was photographed in full Wolfpac Sting regalia while his girlfriend went as Hulk Hogan.
Love took his WWE fandom to a new level on Sunday when he went full-Hulkamania and ripped open his own jersey after being called for a foul he didn’t agree with.
Despite the prevailing narrative that Nike needs to do something about the frequency with which their jerseys are exploding, I’ll offer a counter-point. These videos are awesome. I’ve been entertained by every single jersey ripping video, and if Nike fixed whatever the issue is, we won’t get any more of this.
Seriously, the footage of Lance Stephenson causing Ben Simmons’ jersey to basically disintegrate was mesmerizing. Don’t change a thing, Nike. That is my plea.
