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The Easy Fix Is In

Official word from DOC Gross is in regarding Ernie Davis' Swooshy Shoes and that word is...we're on it.
"Easy fix," Gross said in an e-mail today. "The sculptor is on it and will make it perfect."
Gate E's Matt Gelb emailed the DOC and Gross' sentiment seems to have been echoed by another person involved with the project as well:
Dan Johnson, a local resident and ardent grassroots supporter of building an Ernie Davis statue for years, told us he is happy with the new one. The Nike oversight is something that can easily be fixed, he said.
"Easy fix" seems to be the talking point of choice. And according to Gross, it was the sculptor who made the oversight, not any kind of marketing agreement between the University and Nike.

Still, the missing piece of the puzzle is how no one within SU noticed until now or if they did notice, why wasn't this fixed before it became a kerfuffle? And I'm still at a loss as to how the sculptor used an original photo of Davis as the basis but ended up with Nike logos and an incorrect helmet. I'd ask for Matt to keep digging but I'm sure the answer would be something like "Pish-posh, no biggie."

In the grand scheme of things, this is all small potatoes. But I'm glad that SU fans out there raised enough of a stink over this to ensure that, purposefully or not, Ernie Davis is honored for what he did in his lifetime rather than the corporate synergies that Syracuse forged years later based partially on his efforts.


(Photo Credit: Daily Orange)