Noah Lyles sends message to Anthony Edwards after 'rejecting' Adidas offer

Olympic and world 100m champion Noah Lyles has cleared up not attending NBA star Anthony Edwards' Adidas shoe launch event .

A TIME feature on the American sprinter, 27, saw him vent his frustrations at Adidas over an invitation to Minnesota Timberwolves star Edwards ' shoe release event while not having a signature shoe of his own. Lyles hit out at the fact that Edwards, 22, is yet to make the NBA Finals.

But like Lyles, Edwards is now an Olympic champion, having starred on a Team USA roster stacked to the rafters with the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry. Lyles' comments came amid tension over a contract extension with the sports brand.

"You want to do what?" Lyles said. "You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals? In a sport that you don't even care about? And you're giving him a shoe?

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"No disrespect; the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they saw the insight to give him a shoe, because they saw that he was going to be big. All I'm asking is, 'How could you not see that for me?'"

Lyles has now taken to social media to clear up his position by congratulating Edwards on his shoe and putting his absence down to schedule clashes. Lyles, who came third in the 200-meter event having not lost since Tokyo in 2021, slammed what he says have been "rumors."

"There is a rumor going around that I did not go to @theantedwards_ shoe release because he didn’t deserve it," Lyles said on X. "That is not the case he definitely deserves his shoes he is an amazing player. The problem was finding time based on my prior engagements. Congratulations on Becoming an Olympic champion!"

Edwards hasn't addressed Lyles' comments publicly but the NBA star is likely to be unfazed. The Timberwolves star, like Lyles, doesn't shy away from cheeky comments or trash talk and is high on self-confidence. Edwards will likely be Team USA's main man on the Los Angeles roster in 2028.

“I can’t speak on that. I can only speak on what I got around my neck right now," Edwards said. "This was the most fun I ever had playing basketball," he added.

Edwards came off the bench for the Americans and scored eight points on 3-of-7 shooting in the gold medal game against host nation France. Steph Curry put up an incredible 24 points, with twelve of Curry’s points coming on fourth-quarter 3s.