The 25 Most Controversial Things That Ever Happened In Sneakers

Year: 2009
Sneaker: Reebok

Marcin Gortat already had his Jumpman tattoo when Reebok signed him to an endorsement deal, but maybe he wore long pants to the signing and Reebok never asked about it. During the 2009 NBA Finals, however, Reebok asked the then-Magic center to cover up the ink. He declined—and now wears Nikes.

Year: 2013
Sneaker: Nike Vapor 9 Tour

You'd think a seven-time Wimbledon champ would catch a break from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, and you'd think wrong. For 2013, Nike outfitted defending champion Roger Federer in a pair of white and silver Vapor 9 Tours with a vibrant orange sole, which was clearly too much for Wimbledon—the shoes were banned after one match. Which happened to be the only match Federer won. Ousted in the second round, Federer could then wear his orange-soled shoes all he wanted.

Year: 2013
Sneaker: Reebok Classics

Let's get this out of the way right up front: Rick Ross's line in "U.O.E.N.O." was offensive, and Ross deserved to be castigated for it. But getting dropped from Reebok? Hard to say—after all, this is a guy who'd recorded tracks named "Hit U From The Back" and "Rich Off Cocaine" before they even signed him.

Year: 2007
Sneaker: Newton Running

This is an ongoing controversy, as scientists and runners squabble continuously over what exactly constitutes "proper" running form. Newton Running, a Boulder-based company whose roots go back to the mid-'90s, is planted firmly in the forefoot/midfoot camp, and their unique shoes are perfectly constructed for that kind of gait. We won't even get into Vibram Fivefingers.

Year: 2003
Sneaker: Converse Loaded Weapon

Sure, Converse released a (tremendously successful) sneaker called the Weapon in 1986 that was worn by virtually every All-Star not named Patrick Ewing or Michael Jordan. But in 2003 no one should have had to tell them that "Loaded Weapon" was a downright awful name for a sneaker. Come on, guys.

Year: 2010
Sneaker: Nike Hyperize

It's rare that an NBA trainer bans a shoe, but that's exactly what happened in 2010 when Detroit Pistons strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander forbade his players from wearing the Nike Hyperize following a rash of injuries. Shoes had been blamed for injuries before (and have been since), but never in such a forthright manner. It's perhaps worth noting that the Pistons went 27-55 that season.

Year: 1985
Sneaker: Nike Air Jordan 1

The NBA uniform code should have been perfectly clear: If a team is wearing white-based shoes, everyone on said team must follow suit. Nike had to know this when they produced the initial Air Jordan in red and black despite the Bulls' wearing white shoes-and maybe they did. The NBA fined Jordan each time he wore the new sneakers, and Nike responded with one of the most memorable ad campaigns in sneaker history. They also sold millions of dollars worth of Air Jordans, which should have covered the fines.

Year: 2002
Sneaker: adidas KOBETWO

You know there's problems with a signature shoe when even the player whose signature model it is won't wear it. Kobe Bryant ditched the Audi-designed KOBETWO in the midst of the 2002 NBA Playoffs, returning to the previous season's KOBE model. The sneaker had already been received with decidedly mixed reactions, and Kobe's dismissal sealed its—and perhaps his—fate. Pairs turned up in outlets for a fraction of the original retail price, and it was the last Kobe sneaker adidas would produce.

Year: 1989
Sneaker: Ewing Athletics

In 1989 it was rare enough for a basketball player to have his own sneaker, let alone his own brand. Even Michael Jordan didn't have that yet. So when Patrick Ewing left adidas to start his own company, this was an unprecedented, risky move (even with David Falk's involvement). But it worked-for a while, anyway. Ewing Athletics made some noise in the early '90s before collapsing due to various reasons around '96. And as the recent revival has shown, the name still resonates.

Year: 2012
Sneaker: Various

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Multiple brands, including Skechers and New Balance and Reebok, were forced to pay back consumers who were apparently duped by dubious claims regarding their toning shoes. Meanwhile, people who never bought into it in the first place were entirely unsurprised.

Year: 2011
Sneaker: Puma Speedcat

When Puma chose to honor the 40th anniversary of the United Arab Emirates with a special shoe in 2011, they probably should have asked someone from the UAE for their input. The sneaker, a Speedcat low done up in the colors of the UAE flag, was denounced as being disrespectful—thankfully, they made just 120 pairs.

Year: 2012
Sneaker: Nike Dunk Low Pro SB

When most people (OK, most Americans) think of "black and tan," they think of Harp-or Bass-mixed with Guinness. People in the UK see it a bit differently. The Black and Tans were a British paramilitary unit responsible for various horrific actions back in the '20s. Nike apologized for the unfortunate name, but the shoe (complete with a beer on the insole) was already out.

Year: 1999
Sneaker: And1 Tai Chi

In 1997, Latrell Sprewell was untouchable. Suspended for attempting to strangle his coach at practice, he also lost all of his endorsements, including his shoe deal with Converse. In 1999, he had been traded to the Knicks and was ready to start over. And1, no strangers to controversy, signed the swingman to a multi-year deal, created an amazing series of commercials, and eventually gave him a signature shoe.

Year: 1992
Sneaker: Reebok

When Shaquille O'Neal came out of LSU two things were readily apparent: He was going to be the number-one pick in the NBA Draft, and some sneaker company was going to give him a hell of a lot of money. As the story goes, he'd visited Reebok first, and had every intention of signing with them. But he already had a trip to Nike planned, so he did it—wearing all Reebok. Reportedly, Phil Knight has yet to forgive him.

Year: 2013
Sneaker: Nike LeBron X Low

It is the nature of things that occasionally products commemorating an event must be manufactured before said even actually occurs, which is why every year poor nations receive shipments of championship t-shirts that celebrate an alternate reality. (Somewhere, the Buffalo Bills won multiple Super Bowls.) So when images of LeBron's championship shoes leaked while the Finals were still going on, no one should have batted an eye. But that "2-TIME CHAMPION" insole was still a bit jarring, especially since the Spurs seemed to have the upper hand. But the Heat wrested back control, and it just became another chapter in LeBron's ongoing tale.

Year: 1985
Sneaker: Nike Air Jordan 1

Hindsight is wonderful. Of course Michael Jordan over Sam Bowie is a no-brainer now. But back in 1984 it clearly wasn't, seeing that the Portland Trail Blazers went the other way. Likewise, when Nike inked Jordan to a sneaker contract and made him the focus of more or less their entire basketball marketing push, it was a tremendous risk. Sure, basketball guru Sonny Vaccaro insisted it was the right move, but this was a 22-year-old rookie joining a team that had gone 27-55 the year before. So much could go wrong. Needless to say, it didn't.

Year: 2009
Sneaker: Air Jordan XII Retro

The entire upper of the Air Jordan XII was inspired by Japan's "Rising Sun" flag, but when Jordan chose to make the influence more overt with a full-color insole, that was a step too far. Retailers in China and Korea objected, citing the flag's overtones of Japanese imperialism. The release date was pushed back so the insoles could be recalled and replaced with plain white ones. Well, most of them were anyway.

Year: 1996
Sneaker: Nike Air Choad

Everyone remembers the success of Nike SB, built on the back of the re-issued Dunk, but not nearly as many people remember Nike's first attempt at entering the skateboarding market. This was five years earlier, and Nike tried to do it strictly via new performance models, including the Air Choad and the Air Snak. This didn't go over well with skateboarders—or pretty much anyone else.

Year: 2003
Sneaker: Nike Dunk Low Pro SB

"Tribute" shoes can be awfully tricky. Put out something that's not an official collaboration, without the other party being aware of your intent, it's probably best to not be too overt in your homage. Nike didn't do this when it came to the "Heineken" Dunk SB—the influence was too obvious to miss—and the Holland-based brewery didn't quite appreciate the love. How much didn't they appreciate it? They have eBay pull auctions that include their name. Still, it's considered an all-time classic SB.

Year: 2012
Sneaker: Nike LeBron X

It was the summer of 2012, and talk of the new LeBron sneaker turned to a little matter of price. The figure $315 was thrown out there, and all of a sudden the blogosphere (and the mainstream mediasphere) sensed blood in the water. No matter that this was an incorrect price to begin with, or that the higher price was just for the all-new Nike+ equipped model, the outrage was already, well, out. In the end, the price wound up being (slightly) lower, and LeBron's shoes sold like crazy.

Year: 2009
Sneaker: "Air Jordan VIII"

It is possible that Big Boi could have picked a worse pair of shoes to wear when he performed at Sneaker Pimps ATL in 2009, but he would have had to try REALLY hard. Talk about learning the hard way.

Year: 2006
Sneaker: HUF x Barry McGee adidas adicolor Lo "Yellow"

Released as part of an adicolor pack in 2006, the Barry McGee entry via HUF created controversy before it even hit retail. The character on the tongue, Ray Fong, seemed to play to the worst of Asian stereotypes-and it didn't help that the shoe represented the "Yellow Series." Never mind that McGee himself was of Asian descent, or the fact that the portrait was based on a photo of himself as a child. People will waste no opportunity to take offense.

Year: 2012
Sneaker: Jeremy Scott x adidas Originals Roundhouse Mid

They probably should have seen this one coming. Jeremy Scott's take on the Roundhouse Mid was inspired by "My Pet Monster" and turned the toy's handcuff into an ankle shackle—which did not go over well at all. It didn't help that the shoe was an unofficial tribute, which meant that neither Scott nor adidas could come right out and say "IT'S BASED ON THIS TOY, PEOPLE." With media of all ilk falling all over themselves to remind everyone that slavery was bad, adidas scrapped the shoe.

Year: 1997
Sneaker: Nike Air Bakin

Nike's Air Bakin was the flagship of an outdoor-inspired group of basketball sneakers (including the Air Grill, Air Melt and the Air B-Que) in 1997 that featured "Air" lettering on the heels in a flame-like font. Unfortunately, the font also caused it to resemble the Arabic wording of "Allah," which did not go over well with Muslim groups. Retros were produced with a more traditional "Nike Air" heel logo.

Year: 2002
Sneaker: Umbro Zyklon

Generally speaking, it is not good to give your newest sneaker a name that most people equate with a gas used in Nazi death camps. Just a helpful hint.