Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Nike is pronounced Nikey, confirms guy who ought to know

Finally, answers.

Christopher Hooton
Monday 02 June 2014 14:05 BST
Comments
Nike's chairman of the board of directors helpfully circled the correct pronunciation
Nike's chairman of the board of directors helpfully circled the correct pronunciation (Ben Martin/Kendal Peters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Nike chairman Phillip Knight has confirmed that it's "Nikey" not "Nike", meaning I've essentially been talking nonsense for years.

The great pronunciation debate, second only to that of 'gif' and 'jif', came to a head after Knight was sent a letter asking him to circle the correct way of saying the brand name.

Ben Martin and Kendal Peters sent the letter in order to settle a bet and "answer one of life's big unanswered questions".

"We had had this friendly bet between us for a while now and decided to write to Phillip Knight to once and for all settle one of life's biggest unanswered questions," they told Sportsmail.

"We included a stamped addressed envelope inside the letter so that he could simply circle the answer and send it back to enlighten us all. We didn't actually think that he would do it. But all credit to him, a few weeks later the letter returned!"

Knight offered no reasoning behind the pronunciation
Knight offered no reasoning behind the pronunciation (Nike)

Now, will someone please make an official ruling on "scone" or "scone"?

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in