I have not heard anything but it would not surprise me.
Nike is all about money and those smaller stores just do not sell as many shoes as the larger stores/chains.
I remember years ago hearing about Nike knowingly not doing anything about counterfeit clothing in lower income areas because it just added to their appeal/street cred.
Lower income areas at the time were perceived by many suburban youth (kids with lots of dispoable spending money) as the epitome of cool.
So in a nutshell yes Nike is shady like that.
On a related topic, if this news is true it is not good news for the few remaining smaller urban retailers who are already having to deal with skyrocketing store rents.
Soon the urban landscape will be filled with nothing but blocks and blocks over overpriced condos, Starbucks, CVS and Whole Foods stores.