Adidas has pulled a sneaker it was selling in honor of Black History Month after the all-white running shoe was slammed on Twitter.
The shoe, part of the company’s Ultraboost line, was included in a broader collection of clothing and sneakers inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, but critics said the sneaker’s color, and even the material apparently used to create it, made for a tone-deaf tribute.
“@adidas Releasing an all white sneaker in a Black History Month collection ain’t it,” one tweet read.
Another post said “I walked into a @JDSports today to look at the Ultra boost shoe @adidas. I was told by an employee that these shoes were made to celebrate black history month Confused the employee proceeded to tell me that the shoe was also made of cotton? Hence the all white. I am disgusted.”
In a statement about its Black History Month collection, Adidas said that “toward the latter stages of the design process, we added a running shoe … that we later felt did not reflect the spirit or philosophy of how Adidas believes we should recognize and honor Black History Month. After careful consideration, we have decided to withdraw the product from the collection.”
Charisse Jones, USA TODAY
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