The Paris Olympics might be over for all atheletes, Noah Lyles is not done making waves with his controversial words.
When Noah Lyles was negotiating an Adidas contract extension last year, the company reportedly thought they were doing him a favor.
Comments the track and field star made in June during a discussion with Sean Gregory of Time resurfaced over the weekend and appeared to take something of a shot at Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards when he took issue with Adidas’ offer to him.
“I want my own shoe. I want my own trainer. Dead serious. I want a sneaker, ain’t no money in spikes. There’s money in sneakers,” Lyles said after the race. “And even Michael Johnson didn’t have his own sneaker. I feel like for how many medals we bring back, the notoriety we get, the fact that it hasn’t happened is crazy to me. That needs to happen.”
Noah Lyles signed an extension with Adidas before the Summer Olympics and said Adidas invited him to a signature shoe launch event featuring Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
“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? 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?’”
Noah Lyles wanted his respect after being invited to an Anthony Edwards event
(via Time) pic.twitter.com/zbP0NdvA8p
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 11, 2024
The sports company and the track star inked an extension earlier this year that is reportedly the most lucrative deal for a track and field athlete since Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s deal with Puma.
Noah Lyles earned himself plenty of new fans at the 2024 Olympics, but his brash, straight-to-the-point attitude rubbed many the wrong way.
Noah Lyles Has Been At War With NBA Fans Ever Since His World Champions Comments
Before Lyles and Edwards each were winning gold for the country, the track star took a shot at NBA players being named world champions.
“You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head,” Lyles said. “World champion of what? The United States? Don’t get me wrong, I love the U.S., at times, but that ain’t the world.”
“World champion of what? The United States?”
Track and Field star Noah Lyles on NBA champs calling themselves World Champs.
(via @eurosport) pic.twitter.com/do1WC2vdYb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 27, 2023
Team USA basketball seemingly took a jab at Noah Lyles after winning a gold medal on Saturday.
“Are we the World Champs now?” Team USA posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Are we the World Champs now?
🇺🇸 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/t4M9NeBkU6
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 10, 2024
