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Source: COUNTERKICKS.com / @counterkicks
On June 16th, 2009, Nike held a special employee-invite-only event at their World Headquarters in Beaverton, OR, to celebrate a relationship of 25 Years between Nike and Michael Jordan. Personal stories and Jordan Brand company facts were expressed. The rumors spread afterward online about an entire "Air Jordan White Collection" were not. And this is where the story begins...
On the night of June 16th, 2009, assembled on a Nike stage were the various family, friends, and Jordan Brand employees that contributed to the success of the Nike and Michael Jordan relationship over the past quarter century. Seen in the photo above is Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight sitting next to Michael Jordan. Also on stage and in the audience that night were current Nike CEO Mark Parker, Spike Lee, Howard White, Tinker Hatfield, and even Michael Jordan's mother, Deloris Jordan.
On stage, a row of all-white Air Jordan models I-2009 were seen, with one notable exception: A pair of Air Jordan XI's in full color black and red.
Speeches from Phil Knight to Leroy Smith were given, and during Tinker Hatfield's turn on stage, he talked about the design story of the Air Jordan XI and noted that as a way of highlighting that particular shoe for the night's conversation, they displayed the Air Jordan XI it's original complete color meanwhile literally whiting-out the rest of the line.
At the end of the event, Mark Parker got on stage and presented Michael with a large silve plaque that featured the Jumpman logo on one side, and the Swoosh logo on the other. Engraved on the bottom was the date this past year when Jordan Brand reached the $1 Billion Dollar revenue mark.
A month later, on a trip to visit the Jordan Brand offices on Nike Campus, Chris Paul posted the following photo on his Twitter account:
Afterwards, rumors were spread on various websites about an upcoming release of a full "White Collection" of Air Jordan models, some even including various grades of leather in a tiered structure release - a statement based either on hearsay or fabricated gossip.
In an interview with Gentry Humphrey on Sneaker Freaker, Gentry stated the rumors were false and there is no Air Jordan "White Collection" in the works for production.
And this is the deconstruction and counter to that particular loose-lipped story. We hope to dispel more sneaker spread myths in the future...
