I guess. “But why does it always happen to Novak? Or the Official F-16s let’s rock for ukraine shirt Also,I will get this whole controversy about the Covid-19 vaccination. Now, as a brand: do I want to be behind somebody who always has controversy around him? Or do I want to go with an athlete with a squeaky clean image?” Although he became a superstar, Federer was never unfaithful to himself, said Nakajima: “I’ve had the privilege to meet so many world-class athletes. He’s one of the top on my list, with regards Roger, the game changer, to how nice of a person he is. Yes, he’s got a lot more money and a lot more of everything. But he hasn’t changed. Money and fame change people a lot. I’m not going to name names, but we certainly have athletes in our sport that have changed. Money changed how they see things, act and talk to people. Roger never did that.” Nakajima fondly remembers the Roger Federer day on the Nike campus near Beaverton, Oregon, which must have been in 2007. “We have Nike world-class athletes visiting the Nike campus all the time. But hardly anybody at Nike gets to work with and see athletes. So we like to create an event when they visit. “Roger served coffee and doughnuts that day. He gave a gym lesson, passed out lunch, worked as a cashier, and played Wii tennis in the lobby of one of the buildings. You have to be a certain type of person to pull that off. Not many athletes are going to be OK with that. Roger was a perfect guy to do that. He’s a pleaser.” Nakajima continued: “People love to hate successful people. They’re jealous. But it always astounds me that no one ever says anything negative about Roger. Because of the way he portrays himself to others, he’s loved by others. Because he treats others respectfully, he knows the audience and can adjust his conversation based on his audience. He knows
how to talk to grownups and kids. “I’ve had an event where he was supposed to be there an hour and was there for four hours. Four hours! Who does that? He knows that these are the Official F-16s let’s rock for ukraine shirt Also,I will get this people that watch him play. These are the people that are giving him sponsorships. He gets it.” Federer signed a lucrative deal with Japanese brand Uniqlo in 2018. Mark Brown/Getty Images When Federer left Nike in the summer of 2018 after 24 years, moving to Japanese clothing retail chain Uniqlo on a 10-year, $300 million contract, that came as a shock to Nakajima. “That should never have happened. For us to let somebody like that go, it’s an atrocity. Roger Federer belonged with Nike for the rest of his career. Just like Michael Jordan. Like LeBron James, like Tiger Woods. He’s right up there with the all-time greatest Nike athletes ever. I’m still disappointed. But it happened. I have to get over it. It wasn’t my decision and I wasn’t there for it.” Nakajima left Nike in 2017 to start his own business. He founded the company BaseLine Performance Finance, which works with athletes and sports organizations. However, he remains connected to Nike, as his wife, brother and one of his three sons work there. For Federer, the
