‘That was kind of out of my hands’: Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson speaks on public reaction to ‘Fear of God’ jerseys from Sunday

The jerseys that the Indiana basketball program debuted on Sunday were unpopular and came with a great deal of criticism from fans. While it was in partnership with Adidas and the ‘Fear of God’ clothing brand, the non-traditional look that went away from its normal jerseys stirred up a lot of discussion in the days leading up and following the unveiling.

On Monday, Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson made it known where he stands on the topic.

“I have no control over that. I’m about wearing our white uniforms at home like we’ve done for 40 something years since when I was here,” Woodson said during his radio show. “That was kind of out of my hands. We won’t wear that uniform again the rest of the season. I had nothing to do with it, and I’m the head coach.”

The decision to wear these jerseys came from Adidas itself. Indiana and Miami were two schools that were chosen to debut these jerseys at some point this season. Both the men’s and women’s programs will wear them at some point in the final month.

The Indiana women’s program will wear the ‘Fear of God’ jerseys on Thursday against Iowa.

While Indiana basketball has rolled out alternate jerseys before, this was the first time it received such backlash from the fan base.

“We’re as traditional as the fans are,” Indiana Deputy Director of Athletics Stephen Harper said on Monday. “We like the traditional uniforms.”

Harper, who also joined Inside Indiana Basketball on Monday explained in more detail the thought process behind the jerseys.

“Adidas has been a good part for us (Indiana) in the department,” Harper continued.  “And from time to time, they do like to bring special products that they think will excite the players, excite recruits — those kinds of things. That was an example of that.

“Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We heard a lot of fans didn’t necessarily love those, which we understand. We don’t plan on moving away from the traditional look of Indiana basketball, which again, means a lot to us.”

Photo by HoosierIllustrated.com

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