Patrick Johnson 
You’ve heard all about Jimmy Butler‘s willingness to leave adidas for Jordan Brand, but what if it happened the other way around? That’s exactly the story with Dragan Bender, one of Croatia’s top prospects who was set to play in this summer’s FIBA U19 World Championship. Croatia’s national team is currently sponsored by Jordan Brand, and as per the team’s contract, players have to wear the latest Jumpman models too. But Bender recently inked a deal with adidas and wouldn’t take off the three stripes for a chance to compete on one of the biggest stages of his young career. Whether this was adidas’ decision or the player not wanting to budge because of his loyalty to adidas remains to be seen.
Vladimr Vanjak, Croatia’s head of delegation at the tournament currently being held in Greece stated on his player’s absence:
“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.”
adidas has a much firmer grasp on markets overseas, but Dragan’s decision does seem a bit drastic. The miscommunication possibly points to adidas stepping in and removing Bender themselves. Croatia’s U19 team will now have to compete with one less player in the tournament, as rules state that once rosters are set past a certain deadline, teams cannot add or drop players. Stay tuned for more updates.
Source: FIBA
