Marcus Jordan needs to get with the program.

No matter what shoes happen to be on Marcus Jordan's feet, he really has stepped in it now.

The University of Central Florida, where Jordan is a freshman basketball player, has a $1.9 million contract with Adidas that requires all Golden Knight athletes to wear its shoes and apparel. That includes Jordan, son of Nike icon Michael Jordan.

But Marcus Jordan plans to wear shoes from Jordan Brand, a division of Nike created for dear old dad, because Central Florida made a recruiting promise it never should have made that he didn't have to wear Adidas. High-ranking officials at Adidas later intervened to say Jordan did.

Now, Jordan says he won't.

Jordan's sole act of defiance has jeopardized the future of a potential six-year, $3 million extension between Central Florida and Adidas. Understand that $3 million might be the football coach's salary at places like Florida or Florida State. But at Central Florida it represents about 5 percent of the Central Florida Athletics Association's budget, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Before Central Florida plays its exhibition opener Nov. 4, someone close to Marcus needs to put his famous foot down and encourage him to wear the same shoes his teammates are wearing for the good of the program. It would be better if Marcus reached the same conclusion himself before perception further depicts him as a prima dona and we begin to wonder if the shoe fits.

This is a silly debate.

A college scholarship isn't a right for Marcus Jordan or any other student-athlete. It's a privilege. That privilege comes with conditions. Stay academically eligible, in shape and out of jail. Go to in-season and offseason workouts. Follow a code of conduct established by the athletic department or team.

If that athletic department says you charter a bus to a game, a player with rich parents can't opt to take his family's private jet. If team policy forbids facial hair, you get a shave. And if the university paying for a student-athlete's room, board, tuition and books stipulates every team member will wear Adidas shoes, that student-athlete wears Adidas shoes.

It doesn't matter if the kid's last name is Jordan or Naismith. It doesn't matter if he has been wearing Nike since his first pair of booties.

Forget Marcus Jordan's loyalty to Nike or Central Florida's contract with Adidas. This is about the oldest rule in sports. What the coach says goes for everybody, every time.

By David Haugh

About Jordan Brand

From 1985 when the Air Jordan 1 was first released till 1996 when the Air Jordan XII debuted Air Jordans were released under the Nike name. The sneakers carried various Nike branding along with the infamous Air Jordan Jumpman logo. In 1997 Nike started a marketing plan with turned the Air Jordan line into its own sub-brand of Nike. This is when Jordan Brand was formed.

To start things off for the Jordan Brand company the Air Jordan XIII, Air Jordan Team, and Air Jordan Trainers debuted under the new name. The idea to form Jordan Brand allowed Michael Jordan to work exclusively with designers and innovators of his choice, and pretty much put together his own team of top notch designers in the industry. Jordan Brand started releasing much more then just the lineup of Air Jordans.

Jordan Sports Performance

 Besides for Air Jordan Jordan Brand designed the Jordan Sports Performance collection. The collection covers training and performance needs of athletes across all sports, whether it be uniforms or articles of clothing used during training/games or accessories used on and off the field/court. The line also put together Team Jordan which includes contracts with superstars from both the NBA and MLB, including Derek Jeter and Carmelo Anthony, who Jordan Brand designs products for exclusively.

Jordan Lifestyle

 Atheltic apperal and performance accessories werent enough for Jordan Brand so the company put together the Jordan Lifestyle collection. This branch of the company works solely on producing athletic-inspired streetwear for todays youth and young adults. This includes tees, shorts, track jackets, caps and hats, and various articles of clothing.

Jordan Womens

Whats a collection without having a little something for the ladies out there? Jordan Brand wanted to make sure all the females out there werent getting excluded from the Jordan Brand branch so the company formed the Jordan Womens collection. Of course this collection featured products for the urban chic female who identifies with the culture of sport and Michael Jordan’s on and off-court appeal.

Sports Marketing

 Besides for putting together Team Jordan which included athletes from professional sports, Jordan Brand also worked exclusively with numerous NCAA College Basketball teams, designing both uniforms and sneakers carrying the Jordan Brand branding. The colleges currently part of the Jordan Brand program are; Georgetown University, University of California Berkeley, University of North Carolina and North Carolina A&T.

On the high school side of things, Jordan Brand puts together the country’s top seniors every April to take part in the Jordan Brand All-American Classic (JBAAC). Jordan Brand exclusively puts the players up in a hotel in New York City to take part in the JBAAC which goes down at the world famous Madison Square Garden. The JBAAC is a great opportunity for any of the nations top high school basketball players to take part in, seeing how the event is heavily scouted. Many JBAAC alums have moved on to become basketball stars in both college and professional basketball.

Jordan Fundamentals

 Jordan Brand remains active in the community through numerous programs and affiliations, one of the biggest being their own personal Jordan Fundamentals program. The Jordan Fundamentals program is geared towards giving teachers who despite challenging situations and limited resources, strive beyond traditional lesson planning to motivate and inspire their students to take it to the next level. Year each 400 grants at $2,500 a piece are awarded, totaling $1 Million dollars a year. To date over $7 Million dollars has been awarded through the Jordan Fundamentals program, with a portion of Jordan Brand sales funding the program.

Source: http://www.sneakerobsession.com/jordan-brand-history/