Ann Hebert worked at Nike for 25 years and served as its Senior Vice President until Monday, when she resigned after her connection with her son’s sneaker resale business came to light. Joe Hebert is a wildly successful sneaker reseller who calls his business West Coast Streetwear. His resale hustle became the subject of an article in Bloomberg, and that article revealed the secret to at least some of his success: his mom’s credit card and connections.

nah ya boy was getting busy with momma’s card pic.twitter.com/Yzniz5SPIo

— Desus Nice (@desusnice) March 1, 2021

Bloomberg writer Joshua Hunt discovered that Joe used a credit card under the name of Ann Hebert. While Joe admitted that Ann Hebert, Nike VP, was his mother, he insisted that their jobs were unrelated. However, shortly after that aspect of his business was uncovered, Joe cut off communication. Sound suspicious? Many people thought so, and the internet started to question the legitimacy of Joe’s success.

West Coast Streetwear used to come on this app and say he had ZERO help from his parents, but pose with 1000s of sneakers on a massive patio. Oh and his mom is a GM/VP at Nike. pic.twitter.com/ESxT5TMSpj

— sockjig (@sockjig) February 28, 2021

Joe’s business also relies on another controversial practice: the use of bots to buy up valuable sneakers before real people are able to get them. Many resellers use bots, but it’s possible that Joe’s mom provided him with intel about sneaker drops and discount codes. Shoe giants like Nike are usually concerned with shutting down bots and other interferences in the sneaker market, and employees are not allowed to engage in resale. A Nike spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company was aware of Joe’s business and that there was “no violation of company policy.”

The news of Ann Hebert’s resignation has generated a scandal, in part because the world of sneaker resale is highly competitive, and it’s frustrating for many sneakerheads to think that Joe’s family connections may have given him an unfair advantage.