Nike needs to finally give A'ja Wilson a signature shoe or let someone else do it instead

This needs to happen. Now.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you.

Mind if I get a little deep in my sneaker bag this morning?

News of Caitlin Clark’s new signature shoe deal with Nike hit the streets late on Wednesday night. Clark reportedly signed a multi-year, ten-figure signature shoe deal with the Swoosh, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

That’s well deserved. Seeing a rookie get a signature shoe deal is extremely rare, but this was largely expected for Clark. Her popularity is obvious — her Indiana Fever jersey sold out within an hour after she was drafted. Nike is banking on that same fever (pun very much intended) carrying over into the sneaker world.

But, yo. I’m sorry. Where on Earth is A’ja Wilson’s signature shoe?

Look, I don’t mean to railroad this Caitlin Clark news. I’m genuinely happy for her and glad Nike is capitalizing on her popularity.

But A’ja Wilson has been in line for a sneaker for a long time now and it just hasn’t happened yet. It’s getting pretty ridiculous.

The Aces’ superstar has been in the WNBA since 2018. She’s become a two-time WNBA champion, a two-time MVP, a Defensive Player of the Year winner and a five-time All-Star.

Even before that, her stardom bubbled at South Carolina. She actually won a championship there, too. She was also named as a Naismith Award winner and the 2017-18 National Player of the Year.

Off the court, she’s popping. She’s one of the W’s brightest personalities and easily one of the most likable characters in the league. She just made TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list. She’s also now a New York Times best-selling author. She’s done every single GTA side mission at this point.

She’s even proven herself as one of Nike’s most valuable faces. Wilson was the headliner for the brand’s Cosmic Unity sneaker line and she got her own LeBron 21 Player Exclusive model that people reacted well to.

What else must this woman do to get a signature shoe on her feet? No one can say she isn’t marketable or good enough. So what’s the hold-up, then?

That’s what makes the announcement of a Clark signature shoe deal so frustrating. You see just how easily that deal reportedly got done before Clark even played a minute of WNBA basketball. What does it take to make this happen for A’ja?

We genuinely don’t know the answer to that question because Nike hasn’t said much about the situation. As of 9:00 a.m. E.T. this morning, I’ve contacted the brand for comment but have not gotten a response.

Instead of speculating, let’s focus on the facts. When you do that, this doesn’t look great for Nike.

Nike is expanding into women’s basketball again. That’s a good thing  — especially as the brand searches for a new face with LeBron James’ retirement looming over everything. It could easily be a WNBA player who takes over that mantle — especially with how quickly the league is growing.

But here’s the problem: The most prominent female faces of Nike basketball are set to be two white women in a league that is 70 percent Black. There go those racial disparities in the WNBA again.

I’m not saying that Nike is doing this on purpose or that there’s some sort of malicious intent here. I’m just saying that Wilson needs a signature shoe, like, yesterday.

And, whatever it takes to make that happen? I hope it happens. Even if that means the shoe doesn’t come from Nike at all.

So long, Coyotes

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

This entire Arizona Coyotes saga has been so strange. A move for this team has always felt like it’s been in play, but never actually serious. Until now.

The team is reportedly moving to Salt Lake City and it just all feels so sudden. One day, the move was proposed. The next, the NHL’s Executive Committee approved the deal. Yesterday, the team played its final game in Mullett Arena.

This has all been so strange. Charles Curtis captured the most emotional moments from the game here:

“With the Arizona Coyotes franchise packing up and heading to Utah in Salt Lake City, the NHL team that’s had a long history of struggles in the area, there was one last game in Tempe on Wednesday night. The awesome part is the Coyotes won it, but it was a night filled with poignant moments for fans, players and staffers.”

My heart goes out to you, Coyotes fans. It’s never easy to see a team move. But to have it ripped away like this? That’s tough. Hopefully, hockey will return to Arizona someday soon.

The Jontay Porter fallout

Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban from the NBA is well-deserved. Not only did the dude bet on his own team, but he also influenced his prop bets in a way that violated the game and the intrinsic trust built between the league and its viewership.

That just can’t happen. He couldn’t be allowed to return after that. Our Prince Grimes has more on the situation here with five key takeaways from it all. Adam Silver is a man of his word:

“The first thing to understand here is Porter is done in the NBA. While the official release doesn’t put a time frame on the ban, it’s safe to assume it’s permanent. Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters last week Porter could face a lifetime ban if the accusations against him were confirmed. This is confirmation.”

It’s good the NBA caught this happening. At the very least, this proves its system is working. That’s the good part.

The bad part is that this happened in the first place and that it got as far as it did. Porter placed 13 NBA bets via someone else’s account before getting caught here. This went on for a while.

Hopefully, Porter is a good enough example for this to never happen again.

Quick hits: Speaking of Caitlin Clark jerseys … Another amazing Mike Breen call … and more

— Caitlin Clark’s jersey is going to be on hold for a while, man. Bryan Kalbrosky has more here.

— Mike Breen and free chicken are an amazing combination. Here’s Cory Woodroof with more.

— Meghan Hall has more on Tom Brady’s glowing A’ja Wilson tribute in Time Magazine.

— Zion Williamson’s latest injury is so heartbreaking. Prince has more here.

— Charles Barkley and Shaq roasting Kendrick Perkins is the best. Robert Zeglinksi has more.

— Here’s Meg with the eight best moments from Caitlin Clark’s introductory press conference.

Thanks so much for reading TMW today, folks! We appreciate you. Have a fantastic rest of your day. Peace.

-Sykes