Nike is taking heat for its newest shoe release that not only absurdly links NBA star LeBron James to Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., but also oddly highlights the place where King was assassinated.
The “Honor The King” shoe features a label on the tongue reading “Lot_066.LBJ23,” has the word “EQUALITY” on the heel, and is created in a pastel teal blue color — the teal color is meant to evoke the original decor of the Lorraine Motel, where King was assassinated.
Nike described the shoe as its effort to “commemorate” James’ career with this 23rd LeBron James shoe that “remembers the night LBJ dropped 51 points against the Memphis Grizzlies.” The company adds, “The pair remembers Martin Luther King Jr. and draws inspiration from the historic Lorraine Motel, the site of the important Civil Rights activist’s assassination.”
Firstly, it is very odd that Nike chose to adorn the shoe with the teal color scheme of the motel where the American icon was murdered. Why highlight the man’s brutal murder and not something great he did? It would be akin to using the Confederate colors to honor Abe Lincoln because a Confederate sympathizer shot him. It just makes little sense.
But perhaps even more ridiculously, Nike took LeBron James — a mere basketball player — and placed him on the same plane as Martin Luther King, who lost his life fighting for equal rights for American blacks. What could be more facile than thinking James is on the same level as, equal to, or comparable with Martin Luther King Jr.?
Many are questioning the sense of this shoe design. The Athletic, for instance, blasted the design and insisted, “You lost me at Lorraine Motel.” And added, “This idea just misses the mark. Nike has sold merchandise promoting equality for years, but this was an idea that wasn’t needed.”
“As far as tributes to King, this is as big of a miss that I’ve seen. Some things are meant to be memorialized, not monetized,” The Athletic’s Jason Jones wrote.
The Athletic also pointed out that the Lorraine Motel — now a museum of the civil rights movement — was unaware of or informed about the shoe, so they were surprised by the unveiling.
“There are plenty of options if Nike wanted a shoe to recognize King’s life. A LeBron shoe in the color of Kings’ alma mater, Morehouse College. The HBCU in Atlanta would have been a great way to salute King’s life, especially given Nike already has a relationship with the school,” Jones continued.
“[I]f we’re going to remember King, let’s remember how he lived and what he fought for, not where his life ended, and remember that everything shouldn’t be for sale,” he concluded.
Many fans agreed with Mr. Jones:
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