American track and field star Noah Lyles captured the gold medal in the men's 100 meters and a bronze medal in the 200m race (while battling COVID-19) in the Paris Olympics this month, cementing himself as one of the fastest men on the planet.
Lyles's confidence in himself certainly rubs a lot of people the wrong way due to his bombastic nature, but it's clear that he backs up his high opinion of himself on the track with strong result after strong result.
Lyles has made it clear that he wants a signature sneaker with his apparel sponsor, Adidas. There's no indication that one is coming anytime soon, but perhaps that will change after a recent report hinted at tension between the sprinter and the apparel brand.
The tension, according to a feature on Lyles run by Sean Gregory of TIME, stems from Adidas inviting Lyles to the shoe-release event for Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards. The invitation, which came in the middle of contract extension talks between Lyles and Adidas, was seen by the brand as "throwing Lyles a bone" to show the importance of retaining him.
"You want to do what?" Lyles said. "You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals? In a sport that you don't even care about? And you're giving him a shoe? No disrespect; the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they saw the insight to give him a shoe, because they saw that he was going to be big. All I'm asking is, 'How could you not see that for me?'"
Adidas refused to comment on the situation, but the brand reached an extension with Lyles in February on a lucrative multi-year contract extension with the six-time world champion and now three-time Olympic medalist.
Lyles still has his sights set on a signature shoe at some point in the near future, and his demands will certainly ring louder after capturing gold in the 100 meters in Paris.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Noah Lyles Was Miffed by Adidas Invitation to Anthony Edwards Shoe Release.
