Dragan Bender, a seven-footer from Croatia is a projected No.5 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by Draft Express. But, the young power forward won't represent his country in the on-going FIBA U19 World Championships. Why? Big deal, sneaker deal!
Bender is currently under a contract with Adidas and it doesn't sit well with Croatia's national team brand, Jordan. When the management informed the 17-year-old about this policy, he decided to simply leave the team and the tournament instead of switching footwear.
Vladimr Vanjak who is Croatia’s head of delegation at the tournament in Heraklion, Greece confirmed Bender's move.
"The fact is that Bender denied [refused] to play in the Jordan Brand shoes but our Federation has a contract with Jordan and everybody has to play in Jordan Brand. He denied to do that but he didn’t say anything before coming here. That’s the problem. I talked with my Secretary General and other people who made the decision because we have a very serious contract with Jordan. If he cannot play in Jordan Brand, he cannot play. That’s it." Vanjak was quoted by Fiba.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment