Image via Complex Original
From adidas Ultra and Yeezy Boosts to "OVO" and Supreme x Air Jordans, 2015 had its share of great sneaker moments, but it had just as many controversial ones. While sneaker controversy is nothing new, shoes seemed to dominate the headlines more than ever this year, and we're not even including the countless instances of sneaker-related violence. Below, we've recapped some of the sneaker stories that you couldn't stop talking about this year.
Catch up on what you might've missed with The Most Controversial Sneaker Stories of 2015.
Maryland residents voice disapproval of Nike’s KD 8 nickname.
The nickname for this Nike KD 8 colorway may not have had much significance to those of us residing outside of the state of Maryland, but some locals say the shoes did more harm than good. The sneakers, dubbed “P.G. County” (short for Prince George’s), were released as a tribute to Kevin Durant’s hometown, but not everyone was pleased with the homage.
“[I] actually sent a letter to Nike kind of giving them some idea of the nature of the term 'Prince George’s County' versus 'PG County' just to let them know that it is, to many in the county, a pejorative,” said county executive spokesman Barry Hudson. “We would certainly prefer that it was 'Prince George’s County.”
Local politician Howard Stone was even more candid: “It’s ‘Prince George’s County,’ not ‘P.G.’ We should never allow anyone to say it in our presence.”
Still, despite making headlines, it seems like most people were just happy to see the area getting some recognition. “Clearly Kevin Durant named his new shoe out of love and respect for our hometown. Good looking out KD, I’m buying some PGs and wearing them all over the DMV,” lobbyist Justin Ross said.
NFL fines players for wearing awareness-related cleats.
In October, the NFL hit Pittsburgh Steelers CB William Gay with a $5,787 fine for wearing purple and yellow cleats for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in honor of his slain mother. However, instead of letting the touching tribute slide, the league decided to make an example out of Gay, saying he was violating the league’s uniform guidelines by wearing the colors of the Minnesota Vikings.
Just weeks later, Carolina Panthers CB Josh Norman also received a $5,787 charge for displaying a “personal message” written on his cleats “in view of the stadium and television audience.” The “personal message” in question was “PROUDBRAVE,” a tribute to Norman’s grandfather who was a Korean War veteran.
Rules are rules, and we understand that the NFL has to enforce its uniform policies, but c’mon, this is about as ridiculous as it gets. If there was ever a case for an exception to the rule, these guys were it.
Nike catches heat over Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.
It’s safe to say that Nike didn’t mean any harm when it announced a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day discount for police in May, but it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Following countless incidents of police brutality, the Internet responded with a #BoycottNike hashtag, berating the brand for its ill-timed event.
“Nike has no intention to offend anyone, nor to imply that we are insensitive to the serious and important issues between law enforcement and black communities in America,” Nike later said in a statement.
Jim Jones gets busted with fake Air Jordans.
Back in 2013, Jordan Brand laced NBA all-time 3-point leader Ray Allen with an exclusive pair of “Two Rings” Air Jordan XIs. The sneakers never saw a public release, but that didn’t stop rapper Jim Jones from flexing—or, more accurately, fronting—with a pair on Instagram.
“I heard Ray Allen started wearing these lol #FeetPieces been had these joints,” Jones wrote. Just one thing: according to noted sneaker collector SoleyGhost, the pair in question was nothing more than a well-made fake.
"Everybody gets got, it happens to the best of us... I hope he didn't spend a lot of money on the shoes,” SoleyGhost said.
Skateboarder wears adidas Yeezy Boost 350s.
Over the summer, skateboarding site Jenkem hit the NYC streets in a brand new pair of adidas Yeezy Boost 350s to break the sneakers in with some good ol’ shredding.
“We made this clip to see what it felt like to shred a thousand dollars via kickflips. To make people remember that these are just shoes,” Jenkem said. The pricey kicks were ground against pavement and griptape, doused in puddles, and even caught a few cigarette burns before it was all said and done. As expected, the video sent hypebeasts worldwide into a collective uproar.
We interviewed the skater who wore the Yeezys, 24-year-old Piro Sierra, who had this to say: “Sneakerheads are telling me they’re going to kill me when they see me. I’m getting a lot of followers from chicks, super babes. It’s funny, man. I can’t believe people are so psyched on a pair of shoes and skateboarding.”
Skechers bites, then bites some more.
For awhile, it seemed like Skechers was on the up-and-up, with reports in May that the brand had surpassed adidas in U.S. footwear sales. Despite the good news, it might not last long if the brand keeps up some of the tactics it became known for in 2015.
In September, it wound up in court after adidas sued Skechers for biting off of the Stan Smith model. Later that month, we discovered a pair of Skechers that completely jacked adidas’ SpringBlade technology. And then, just when it seemed like it couldn’t get any worse, Skechers dropped the Energy Bust, a sneaker that managed to copy Nike’s Flyknit tech and adidas’ Boost cushioning at the same damn time.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but here, it’s downright offensive.
Nike accidentally gives sneaker a racist name.
Nike followed up the Roshe with another minimal runner named the Zenji in May. Chosen to represent the sneaker’s zen-like qualities, the word also carries negative connotations when pronounced in Arabic.
Unfortunately, Nike wasn’t aware of the word’s derogatory double-meaning, and by the time they found out, the sneakers had already been shipped to retailers. They quickly sent out a request asking stores to change the product labeling, and were able to nip it in the bud for the most part.
Here’s what a spokesperson had to say on the matter: “As soon as we became aware, we took immediate action to rename the shoe the Nike Juvenate. We apologize to anyone who was offended by the original name. No offense was intended.”
James Harden wears Jordan and Nike sneakers after Agreeing to $200M deal with adidas.
In August, adidas shocked the sports and sneaker worlds when it agreed to a $200M deal with Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden. “We’re a brand of creators and James embodies that more than any athlete in the game. His addition to the adidas basketball family is a game changer,” an adidas exec said of the deal, which was set to go into effect on October 1, 2015.
As surprising as the terms of the contract were, what was even more unbelievable was when Harden started getting spotted out in public wearing Nike and Air Jordan sneakers after the announcement was made.
By the time October rolled around, Harden had finally stopped wearing the competition’s kicks. adidas celebrated the deal by delivering him a truckload of sneakers, so he probably doesn’t have much use for the other guys anymore, anyway.
Sneaker store dips Supreme x Air Jordans in paint.
Who would’ve ever thought a can of paint could stir up so much shit? Back in October, buy-and-sell sneaker shop Round Two broke the Internet by dipping a pair of Supreme x Air Jordan Vs in bright red paint. The social media reaction was instantaneous, with hundreds of sneakerheads chiming in to give their opinions on the paint-dipped kicks.
Later, we sent our L.A. team down to Round Two’s Melrose Ave location to get the scoop from co-owner Sean Wotherspoon himself. “I was just like, ‘All white, let’s dip ‘em, it might be tight,’” Wotherspoon said. Check out the full interview here.
Kanye West says everybody who wants Yeezys will get Yeezys.
If you’ve tried to cop a pair of adidas Yeezy Boost sneakers this year, you know just how hard it’s been to actually get a pair. The coveted kicks regularly sell out long before they make it to store shelves, often fetching upwards of five-times their box price on the resell market. That’s why in February, sneakerheads were thrilled to hear Kanye utter these now-infamous words: “Eventually everybody who wants to get Yeezys will get Yeezys.”
As we know, that hasn’t been the case thus far, and in August, an adidas spokesperson seemed to refute Kanye’s claims when they said that “Only a very limited number of people who want the new shoes will be able to get them.”
So, what’s really going on here? Was Kanye simply telling ‘heads what they wanted to hear to keep them on board as adidas started to roll out the collection, or will this forecast come to fruition? This one’s still playing out, but either way, it’ll go down as one of, if not the, most talked about sneaker moments of the year.
