The name Sonny Vaccaro may not be the most instantly recognisable name in sneaker lore but he’s widely regarded as a legend within the industry. Aside from being a former footwear executive at the Swoosh, he also spent time working with adidas and Reebok, however his biggest achievement—and perhaps most important—was brining ‘The G.O.A.T’ Michael Jordan over to Nike.
You would think that he’s very proud of this, and his extensive work at Nike, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. In a recent podcast interview with Jake Brown and Brandon Robinson, Vaccaaro had some less-than-flattering words for MJ, Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Nike executive George Raveling. Speaking in the podcast he let rip saying:
“Michael is delusional. George Raveling is crazy. Phil Knight is sinful... It's the most illogical, dishonest thing."
It all stems from an on-going dispute with Nike’s higher ups as to who was really responsible for bringing Jordan to the brand. In the podcast he also takes issue with some comments made by his 'Airness' who claims Vaccaro wasn’t as integral as he claims to be.
In the podcast he counters those comments and explains the close relationship with the six-tike NBA champion and how he brought him over to Nike.
Click here to listen to the podcast, which is jam-packed with sneaker history, it's around the 24-minute mark when he goes in on Jordan and Nike.
