I don't buy the apology. Adidas is trying to win on both ends of the argument. What I'd like to know is who made the decision to remove the ref, and why was it made. I believe the apology is just a result of all the criticism Adidas received for their decision. LaVar is not the type of person who should be coaching kids.
Neither do I. It's called
Damage Control. It was weak, but what else could they do. The executives that decided to issue the apology are not the same people that were on site. I'd bet lower level management that was "on site" made the decision to pull her. Upper level "corporate management and attorneys made the decision to "quickly" do as much damage control as possible.
This obviously was bad decision on Adidas' part. They don't want this thing to grow any more legs than it already has. Too late. This incident has already gone viral across the entire country. It was a topic of discussion on every
national sports talk show in the country. This was wrong on every level. It's not the kind of publicity that Adidas (or any other major corporation) wants. It would not surprise me if some heads did not roll (or at least some demotions) at Adidas headquarters behind this. You NEVER make a decision that embarrasses the brand. You can bet some asses got chewed.
If they had any aspirations of cutting a deal with LaVar/Lonzo Ball for a shoe contract, my guess is those chances have been reduced substantially. Fans would associate the shoes with this incident for a long time. I don't think Lonzo want to be associated with this incident in any way shape or form.
