Adidas have pulled the pin on Jeremy Scott's Roundhouse Mids. The 'shackle sneakers' will not be released after coming under fire in the US from critics arguing that they symbolize slavery and trivialize the oppression of African Americans. As Syracuse university professor Bruce Wilkins put it, ‘Shackles... the stuff that our ancestors wore for 400 years while experiencing the most horrific atrocities imaginable... I am offended by these shoes because there is nothing funny about the prison industrial complex, which is the most genocidal thing to happen to the black family since slavery itself". It seems a sensitive reaction to a shoe that was inspired by an 80s kids cartoon. Remember My Pet Monster? Nope? Check out the New York Observer for a thorough look at the similarities between the shoe and the show's orange-shackled purple fuzzball. What do you think about adidas' PR move and the heat around this sneak? News via The Washington Post and Fox.
