This article does a good job of summing up everyone's irritation with regards to this Yao/Toe/Shoe fiasco. Reebok employees posing as Rockets fans need not reply to this thread. Reebok can't afford to stub anyone's toes By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle YAO Ming's little piggy that went to market apparently filled its shopping cart with everything but a decent pair of shoes. This is why, of course, Reebok is crying "wee, wee, wee" all the way home. Heavens to Sonny Vaccaro, why won't Reebok quit worrying about image and what it all means to Generation Next long enough to get Yao the right shoes already? They're size 18s. I'm guessing Yao needs a quintuple-E, but you'd better fly someone down here to measure it and make sure. Don't mess up this sizing — again. Last week, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy committed a mortal basketball sin that took the air out of Reebok's soles. He blamed Yao's continued toe troubles on the shoes. Great for Van Gundy. And if that's what it takes for Reebok to get these sneakers right, then bravo. Tread carefullly Madison Avenue walls haven't shook with such horrifying tremor since the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man stomped his size 700s up the street. A quick aside: In the basketball world, calling out a shoe company is like walking into a Texas exes keg party and calling Vince Young overrated. You just don't do it, and most coaches wouldn't dare. You can talk about a player's game. You can talk about his looks. You can call him fat, sorry, ugly. But you just don't talk about a guy's basketball shoes. Van Gundy did. And he was right, of course. Reebok's dragging of feet has put Yao's toe in a jam. Sorry about that. Toe puns are like toeholds — once you get one, it's hard to let go. The injury is by no stretch a laughing matter, but certain parts of the full-fledged, all-hands-on-deck, damage-control mode Reebok and associated agents have fallen into is comical. It's sad, too. Intrigue afoot Reebok's product management team went into immediate spin, a spokesperson indicating Yao's ATR Pump shoe was indeed the one he was wearing. Only adjustments needed to be made, Reebok said. Yao's agent, John Huizinga, all but gave a pinky promise that it was not the shoes' fault Yao has been put on the shelf again, saying the shoes were Yao's "most favorite ones" and telling the Chronicle that maybe Yao was "allergic to Jeff Van Gundy." Huizinga's background as a shoe expert, of course, is as stellar as his background before he became Yao's agent: He was Yao's cousin's college prof. The undeniable truth is Yao's toe became infected and painful a year ago, and he is only the most important person in Reebok's world, this side of Allen Iverson. You would think someone would make sure Yao's foot needs, and consequently his season's hopes, would be a priority. Yao missed 21 games a year ago because of recurring toe problems. Now, after Reebok failed to get him a better custom-fitted shoe in time for training camp, he is out for up to 10 days. The nail on Yao's left big toe is again a problem, with bleeding and seepage under the nail forcing doctors to remove it. Yao's status for the Rockets' 2006-07 opener must be considered iffy. Another quick aside: No one here likes to write about toes or use words like bleeding, seepage and infected in toe columns. As a rule, I avoid toe columns and foot columns in general. But in Yao's case, Reebok and Team Yao need a swift kick in the pants for playing the blame game rather than taking responsibility and getting things right. Shoe wars are indeed a billion-dollar enterprise. Players as young as 11 and 12, afforded piles of gear through their traveling team connections, boast of being a "Nike guy" or an "Adidas guy." And as always, the most important thing in a basketball player's life outside of making it to the league is making it to the league with a lucrative shoe contract. Kids choose a favorite player based on how cool that player's shoes look. Teens don't just buy those shoes; they treat them like heirlooms, carefully stowing them in boxes. Prospects often decide among colleges based on whose shoes each team wears. Reebok figures to take a marketing hit from Piggygate. Yao's teammate, Tracy McGrady, an Adidas guy, has criticized Yao's shoes. Those of us who played in canvas Chuck Taylor hightops might not get it, but the target audience does. A recent survey of all 14-year-old boys who live in my house revealed the following regarding Piggygate. "Why would Yao wear Reebok?" the boy said. "Nike and Adidas are so much better." Granted, this survey was unscientific, but my son's credentials are impeccable. He plays basketball year-round. He listens to hip-hop. He sags his shorts and has fine-looking toes. It's the Reebok folks and those on their payroll who have foot-in-mouth disease, not Van Gundy. All he did was state the obvious. If the shoe doesn't fit, shut up and fix it. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/lopez/4250467.html
I'm not sure I'd consider Yao's status for the opener to be "iffy". More like "likely". Or am I missing something here?
i don't know what some of these writers are on. Yao just had the problematic nail removed. he may have a little bit of irritation and will have to have the toe carefully monitored until and after it grows back, but barring and additional "injuries", Yao will play. i mean he played for almost 2 years with a bad toe that looked like "one of the most disgusting things i have ever seen" according to Del Harris during Athen in 2004.
Not saying that I agree or disagree with any side here, but I've read at least 2 other posters here recently stating that they've had the same problems that I had. I wore the original Reebok Xbeam Franchises. Those shoes looked real nice, but they killed by toes. My big toe is like Yao's in the sense that it's longer than the 2nd toe, and my big toe was so bruised and bloodied after just a couple of months. Even some Clutchfans here saw my toe at a gathering. I had to switch shoes and it took over half a year to heal. So not saying that Yao's shoe is bad, but being a purchaser of many brands over the years, those Reeboks were the only ones that were so poorly made in where the heelslip and stiff tip directly caused me injury.
I havent worn Reebok's in years. My brother has some and is constantly complaining about his feet hurting. I usually stick to Nike though.
Damn Nike for trying to take advantage of Yao early on. If they didn't, he'd be wearing comfortable nikes right now with no toe problems.
I have a problem with van gundy blaming this on reebok, its just like the referee fiasco when his team was choking away the lead to dallas. and I don't blame the reebok guys for defending themselves. how many players has reebok outfitted. love yao, respect van gundy, but I'm going with reebok. they used to be shaq's shoe if they still aren't. I'm sure they know how to make a show for a big guy. reebok=scapegoat.
Why dont they make a mold of Yao's feet and make shoes based on that. Not only that but examine the way he runs and determine which part of the foot recieves the most impact. Make the shoe based on the player and how he plays. Just make him a truly custom shoe, damnit. They do it for lebron. Screw making a shoe that could sell. How about making a shoe only for the man himself.
exactly how many millions is he making the rockets and everyone else involved. spend a few thousand and make a perfect custom shoe and moniter it at the beginning of every season to see if there are any changes that should be made.
10 bucks says pgabriel is either some sort of former or current Reebok employee. LOL. Ive been selling shoes and personally fitting them for over 10 years. And quite personally, outside of And1's, Reebok are the worst things ever for serious athletics. Might as well as throw on two stones and tie them to your feet. The absolute worst shoes I have ever felt and seen were the old Steve Francis'.
Shaq was almost out for a season because of his big toe so I don't think he is a good example. Reebok sucks.
I don't work for reebok but I had a pair of Allen Iverson's circa 99 and they were great. they along with the Charles Barkley Air Forces from his days in Phoenix circa 94 were two of the best basketball shoes i've ever owned.
It is OUTLANDISH, LUDICROUS, and RIDICULOUS that Jeff Van Gundy, a small and angry man known to be as vicious as a capitalist, would blame the recurrent Yao-toe debacle on an awesome brand of innocent shoes that in reality have been helping Yao, and all Reebok® customers, jump higher and run faster throughout the many stellar years that the great people at Reebok® have been consistently creating excellent Reebok® products.. It is a KNOWN FACT that Yao Ming's Reebok® shoes have enabled him to become the dominant force in the NBA that he is today. Without his superbly constructed Reebok® shoes, Yao Ming would still be playing in those weird little sandal things that Chinese people wear, and would never have been able to walk to America for his Houston Rockets tryout. Yao Ming has stated, in private, many times that without his comfortable and supportive Reebok® shoes, he would never have made it in the NBA, and would probably still be stuck with his father, George Ming, driving wealthy European tourists around Peking in a rickshaw. The REAL and VERIFIABLE problem is not Yao Ming's favoritest-of-all-time Reebok® shoes, but Jeff Van Gundy's secret arrangement with the LIARS and BABY-RAPERS who work at the nike company, and are secretly smuggling him Rogaine and heroin to get the evil little man to publicly say COMPLETELY FALSE statements about the truly-excellent and life-affirming products created by the saintly and well-paid Americans who construct Reebok® shoes.
Im not sure if you guys remember, but when Shawn Kemp was an all star, he also had problems with his reebok signature shoes. He publicly stated that the shoes "hurt his feet" Reebok later voided his contract and they went to court over the issue of him saying some Nike Air Force shoes were his favorite in high school although he was under contract with Reebok, which could be one big reason Yao wouldnt be able to say anything negative regarding their product. I wouldn't put this issue too far pass Reebok again. Its not the first time a big man has had issues with his feet in their shoes.
i have adidas tmac 5's and they kinda hurt my feet. I hate putting them on, because it takes six years to put both shoes on, and six to take off. it might be a half size too small for me.
