Noah Lyles was disappointed with Adidas after inviting him to an Anthony Edwards event (Image credits: @nojo18, @theanthonyedwards_/Instagram)
Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles was invited to an Anthony Edwards event in 2023, which Adidas hosted. Unfortunately, the story didn’t have a good ending as Lyles was offended by the offer from the brand. This was revealed in June 2024 after TIME Magazine’s Sean Gregory posted an article about the athlete’s Olympic preparation.
Gregory said Lyles was negotiating a contract extension with the brand last year. During the process, Adidas thought it would be a good idea to invite the athlete to the event of the Minnesota Timberwolves star. But the sprinter was offended by the offer as he doesn’t see Edwards on the same level as him.
“You want to do what?” said Lyles. “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?
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“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?'”
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According to Gregory, Addidas declined to comment regarding the incident about their athlete’s comments on Anthony Edwards.
Aside from the Olympics, Lyles has proven that he’s one of the best athletes in the world in other competitions. But in the 2024 Paris Games, he solidified his reputation as the new fastest man in the world by winning gold in the 100-meter dash.
Anthony Edwards gets the Kevin Garnett treatment from Adidas
Right after Team USA secured their gold medal following their 98-87 win against France, Adidas went straight to work. Their top basketball athlete, Anthony Edwards, just got a taste of international success for the first time. They wasted no time in carrying on with their ad campaign for the Wolves star.
The ad featured a group of people hyping up Anthony Edwards as they sang the song, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hand.”
“From Atlanta to the World. @theanthonyedwards_ is just getting started. Believe That,” Adidas posted.
This isn’t the first time that the song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hand” was used by Adidas in one of their advertisements. Back in 2004, the brand made a commercial for Kevin Garnett, who had just won the regular season MVP with the Wolves. The ad showed how everyone KG ran into, climbed on his back.
Take a look at the video below to see the retro commercial.
