That rumor has been making the rounds.
Did y’all know Prince played a huge part in Michael Jordan’s shoe development and Nike deal ? ?
— rocket girl (@Destannnyyy) April 23, 2016
Did you know #Prince was first to invest in Nike in 70′ he help build “Jordan Nike” .. yup. Little know fact
— Spencer (@ibuydesigner) April 25, 2016
But as hoax-busting site Snopes reported Sunday: “The claim that Prince designed the Air Jordan 1 is also based on fantasy, as the first Air Jordan sneakers were created by Peter Moore. … Although Michael Jordan praised Prince as having inspired him throughout his career, the musician apparently had no direct impact on Jordan’s commercial success with Nike.”
Others who didn’t get the memo:
I don’t know if this is true, but just read that Prince was integral in helping Nike design and market the Jordan 1s. If so, that’s awesome!
— JordanBBenedict (@JordanBBenedict) April 25, 2016
Prince helped create Michael Jordan’s 1st shoes ? and recruited him to Nike
— ⚠️A N T⚠️ (@oddant5) April 23, 2016
He bought stock in Nike 1971 and recruited Michael Jordan then Prince designed MJ’S 1st iconic shoe. pic.twitter.com/hUydtE35Dj
— sylvaners (@Sylvaners) April 25, 2016