Posted by| Tamara Ren’ee
Adidas has decided to not release its “shackle” sneaker. The shoes’ actual name is the JS Roundhouse Mids. A sneak peek of the shoe was shown on Adidas Facebook page yesterday. The caption under the shoe reads, “Got a sneaker game so hot you lock your kicks to your ankles?” JS Roundhouse Mids have an attached orange cuff that one would say resembles shackles worn by African Slaves. The Facebook post has since been removed.
To the shoe giants surprise, the unveiling was flanked with negative comments. The shoe was criticized because its design bares resemblance to slavery. Rev. Jesse Jackson had this to say about the shoe, “The attempt to commercialize and make popular more than 200 years of human degradation, where blacks were considered three-fifths human by our Constitution is offensive, appalling and insensitive.”
Adidas denies any negative innuendo or undertones in the JS Roadhouse Mids and defends the shoes’ designer Jeremy Scott. His design is said to be “quirky and lighthearted.” A statement released to the public reads, “The design of the JS Roundhouse Mid is nothing more than the designer Jeremy Scott’s outrageous and unique take on fashion and has nothing to do with slavery. We apologize if people are offended by the design and we are withdrawing our plans to make them available in the marketplace.”
