As Martin Luther King Jr. Day approached, Nike attempted to honor the late civil rights leader with a special LeBron James shoe.
But for many, the “Honor the King” LeBron 23 sneaker missed the mark due to its curious colorway and mixed messaging.
In a video posted to social media on Monday, ESPN’s David Dennis Jr. explained the issues with the shoe. That includes that its teal silhouette draws inspiration from the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Dr. King was famously assassinated in 1968.
“There are so many other places that you can take colorways from to honor Dr. King,” Dennis said. “You can take places from Atlanta. You can take Birmingham, Montgomery. What about Washington D.C. where he delivered the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. The last place that I would think of would be the signage from where he was assassinated.”
Dennis also noted that in addition to King, the sneakers celebrate James’ 51-point performance against the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008. “Because that moment in American history deserves to be in the same space as the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King,” he said, sarcastically.
Dennis proceeded to call attention to the irony of Nike using its shoes as a vehicle to commemorate King with an emphasis on his assassination. After all, the Baptist minister was killed while supporting the rights of sanitation workers and union workers, which doesn’t quite square with the sneaker giant’s own production process.
Add it all up, and Dennis believes that the shoes are a “tone deaf” statement from all involved, including Nike and LeBron James. He also questioned whether proceeds from the sneakers’ sales will benefit any causes beyond Nike’s bottom line.
“Dr. Martin Luther King was killed while trying to fight against the dreads of capitalism. There’s nothing more capitalist than slapping Nike on a shoe, on a color that sort of trivializes — not sort of — very much so trivializes one of the most gruesome murders in American history,” he said. “Absolutely disgraceful move from all parties involved. I don’t even know where the money’s going… this is just bad marks all around for everybody involved. Disgraceful, disgusting act and I hope they can figure out some sort of way to right this wrong.”
According to Sneaker Bar Detroit, the “Honor the King” LeBron 23 is slated to release to the general public on Feb. 24. Considering the sizable backlash, it will certainly be worth monitoring whether that ultimately comes to fruition.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.