Shoe Dog

Knight meets with a man at the Treasury Department in Washington, DC, in an attempt to convince him that the bill Nike had received for $25 million “was a gigantic misunderstanding” (335). Knight presents the man with a memo that claims the American Selling Price does not have anything to do with Nike, but the man continues to demand the $25 million payment.

Knight begins traveling frequently to Washington, DC, to seek help from politicians and consultants. In the summer of 1979, Werschkul and Knight meet with an Oregon senator named Mark O. Hatfield, who agrees to help Nike’s cause. Both Hatfield and another Oregon senator, Bob Packwood, call the man at the Treasury Department.

Knight seeks the help of a man named David Chang to break into the Chinese market. Chang is said to be an expert on trade in China. In his first meetings with Woodell and Strasser, however, Chang makes an awkward impression.

In his fight against US Customs, Knight deploys several moves. First, Knight creates a new shoe and prices it very low, so that “officials would have to use this ‘competitor’ shoe as a new reference point in deciding [the company’s] import duty” (344). Then Nike airs a commercial that portrays its fight against the US government.