Endorsed athletes wearing the competition’s apparel well never not be one of the most awkward things in sports.
Legendary Olympian and Team USA swimmer, Michael Phelps, is the latest culprit. On the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, the cover for which was unveiled today, Phelps can be seen standing proudly with fellow Team USA athletes Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky, gold and silver medals draped around their necks.
Unfortunately, that’s not what people have noticed most about the cover. Instead, it’s Phelps’ choice of trouser: a black pair of Nike sweats, with the patented Nike Swoosh staring Under Armour officials right in the face under SI‘s “Stars of a Red Hot American Summer” cover line. Phelps is, as we know, as Under Armour as it gets. He first began to train as a swimmer in Baltimore at the age of 11 in the year 1996, the same year Under Armour was founded in the same city. He joined the company as one of its most famous athlete ambassadors in 2010, and told AdWeek in March of this year that he’d never worn Nike in his life.
This won’t be an easy conversation to have when Mike gets back from Rio.
