Puma deletes tweet after taking shot at Nike over Zion Williamson injury

Puma sent a tweet disparaging Nike after Zion Williamson suffered an injury while wearing their shoes, but they thought better of it.

Puma has ventured into the basketball market, signing players such as Deandre Ayton, DeMarcus Cousins and Marvin Bagley to try and take some market share away from Nike, the leader in the field. After Williamson’s Nike shoes blew out in the first minute of the Duke-North Carolina game on Wednesday, Puma took a shot at Nike, saying the issue wouldn’t have happened if he were wearing Pumas.

Dear Zion….then deleted by #Puma pic.twitter.com/XXudDRfcGx

— Sleeper Athletes (@SleeperAth1etes) February 21, 2019

Puma later deleted the tweet, possibly after learning that Williamson was out for the game with a knee injury.

Before Puma sent the tweet, Terry Rozier, another Puma athlete, had made his recruiting pitch.

This type of tweet probably won’t earn Puma many more fans. Separately, they could benefit as the malfunction of the Nike shoes could lead some to question wearing the brand.