“Air,” the latest brainchild of Cambridge natives Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, chronicles how sports marketing disruptor Sonny Vaccaro spearheaded a revolutionary shoe campaign between Nike and NBA legend Michael Jordan. WEEI spoke 1-on-1 with Vaccaro ahead of the film’s April 5 theatrical release. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Is Tatum on the same tier as Giannis?
Meghan Ottolini: I’m just going to jump right into this. In the movie, Matt Damon, as you, describes Michael Jordan as an ‘F-ing killer.’ He doesn’t say it as politely. What early memory jumps into your mind about what you saw from Michael before he entered the NBA?
Sonny Vaccaro: That’s exactly what I thought, in my mind, when he made that (game-winning) shot (in the 1982 NCAA National Championship). That’s why I remembered him two years later. Only an F-ing killer makes that shot, when you’re 18 or 19 years old, and has the guts to take it.
We had a great relationship. Everything after that was beautiful. If it wasn’t for that shot, I never would have said his name to (marketing executive) Rob Strasser and Nike, and none of this would have happened.
MO: How much were you able to contribute to some of the dialogue in this script?
SV: I spoke with Ben casually, he was very grateful I was involved. Matt and I first spent an hour and a half on zoom. He’s a big basketball fan, first, and that continued. My wife and I spent a whole day on set, I watched him through scenes. We collaborated and then became friends. It was easy for me, because Matt is a great basketball fan. The thing that made it easier for me is that Matt grew up 5 ½ blocks from where Patrick Ewing grew up and he went to the same high school - Cambridge Rindge and Latin. At that time Patrick Ewing was the guy who played on Georgetown, that’s who Michael beat. I’ve known Patrick forever.
So Matt and I had this natural connection, with the love of basketball and this connection through Patrick Ewing.
MO: What was it like seeing Matt Damon portray you and tell this story?
SV: When (my wife) Pam and I sat down at the premiere, I was like a child. I didn’t move, I was mesmerized from the first scene to the last scene to the credits. Going through it, scene-by-scene, it was as close as I can remember. I was enraptured.
MO: The film is about, not just how you campaigned to sign Michael to Nike and Phil Knight, but how you connected with his parents. Why did you focus on Michael’s parents so much?
SV: My first meeting when I ever talked to Michael was in Santa Monica, California. I spent an hour talking to Michael and he had no idea who I was. He was at North Carolina, they were wearing Converse. But psychologically, I’ll never forget that (1982) shot for the rest of my life. At the end of the conversation Michael said something to me that changed me in life. He said, “Mr. Vaccaro, I’m probably not going to sign with Nike, but it was nice meeting you,” I don’t remember the exact way he said it, but he said, “The most important people in my life are my family.”
David Falk was his agent at the time. I told Strasser, “Rob, Falk is not the boss here. Mom and Dad are.”
It wasn’t David Falk, it wasn’t (UNC coach) Dean Smith. But in that one sentence he didn’t talk about Dean Smith. I told Strasser we had to meet the parents.
MO: What was the idea you wanted to convey through the first shoe in its striking design?
SV: Basically, (shoe designer) Peter (Moore) and Rob (Strasser) agreed on something that wasn’t allowed – the color scheme. I don’t think the public really understands. They weren’t allowed to do that, and Strasser said, “I’ll pay the fines,” $5,000. Now we didn’t even have $5. Basketball was the only thing making money. If Phil Knight doesn’t believe in what I told Peter and Rob, that design never happens.
It was the color scheme that screwed everybody’s minds up. We went against grain. We paid the fine. And we had that famous commercial – Michael behind chains, “The NBA doesn’t want me to wear this shoe, but you can buy it.”
MO: You’re still working as a mentor to young athletes and their families, particularly around the NIL issue. Why do you stay active on those issues?
SV: Thank you for asking me that question. In 2007, my wife and I said, it’s time to do what I always wanted to do: fight for the athletes. So that is the most meaningful thing that I’ve done in my life. I may not always have been successful in life. Pam married me, and that was a big upset to begin with. My point is, everyone basically knows me through Michael and the shoe. We walked away because I personally believe the worst thing I’ve ever seen is what the NCAA did for almost 100 years before NIL, claiming that they owned individuals’ names and likeness because of a scholarship, when the scholarship was a lie to begin with.
In all the scholarships’ pages, there was a paragraph or two asking the parents to sign the name, image, and likeness of the athletes to them for perpetuity.
Pam and I walked away from Reebok and corporate life in 2007. It took me all that time to find (lead plaintiff in groundbreaking NIL lawsuit) Ed O’Bannon.
When it’s all over and all said and done, Michael and the shoes are going to live forever. All the other tournaments and things will be forgotten. But something I don’t believe can ever be forgotten is Ed O’Bannon gave freedom to all the thousands of athletes after him who didn’t get paid by the NCAA. I think that was the best thing.
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