Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup
Leaked Zoom footage of a Nike meeting involving Travis Scott and John McEnroe went viral this weekend, leaving many on social media to think that 2023's most unlikely beef was between going down in front of them.
It's not an unfair assumption. In the video Scott and McEnroe are discussing their Mac Attack sneaker collab. McEnroe, the famously hot-headed tennis legend, gets angry on the call as he attempts to convince Scott that his Cactus Jack trademark should be displayed as "Cactus Mac" on the shoe.
"Dammit, Travis!" McEnroe says at one point. "Let's have a bit of compromise here. [Nike employee Jenny's] suggestion is to do a 'Cactus Mac' thing for this one shoe, instead of 'Cactus Jack.'"
"This is my first time hearing about this," Scott responds. "Cactus Mac was never a thing."
McEnroe returns his serve, saying: "Come on, man. Show a little respect. This is my shoe!" Scott came back with, "I'm not feeling it. Something about it feels a little off. Sounds like a burger or something." Something he would know about. The call ended with McEnroe exiting in frustration.
Clips of Scott defacing a tribute to the tennis player and McEnroe dissing Scott in a man on the street interview have been posted online in the subsequent days. In his interview McEnroe shows off a freshly-printed "Cactus Mac" T-shirt, saying, "Cactus Jack? No. Cactus Mac? Yes...Travis."
The "leaked" Zoom call might have been enough to convince some of this being legit (full marks to the creative team at Nike) but the other clips seem to have revealed the truth behind the beef - that it's a marketing ploy.
The timing is, of course, another clue. Scott first began promoting his Nike Mac Attack shoes in June and appeared alongside McEnroe in a promotional video. Nike has rolled out a few Mac Attack colorways in the subsequent month but the Travis Scott collaboration has yet to materialize. Sneakerheads expect it to drop later this month.
