by eric d.graham
We are in a Sneaker War. Remember that....So, for all you so-called Sneakerheads, who will stand in line for 24 hours in order to purchase a pair of limited edition sneakers for $500 or more...…Understand, buying a pair of Nike sneakers or selling them, for that matter, is not a revolutionary act.
Just ask- the 13 UNC football players, who had to learn this the hard way- when they were suspended for four games for selling school-issued Jordan brand sneakers to local boutiques "for as much as $2,500 in cash."
Seriously, purchasing a pair of Nike sneakers does not defeat White Supremacy. Why? Because, we, again, are in a sneaker war which is build on the struggles of Black poverty and the increase of white wealth, who utilizes our swag, style, good-looks, bodies, and style- for capital gain.
See, in the spirit of OJ Simpson, the ultimate pitchman, endorsement deals and shoe contracts- are designed to infiltrate and commercialize the consciousness of all Black athletes, while stripping them of their Blackness in order to make THEM money and sell THEIR products.
Hence, the recent Just Do It Nike commercial starring Colin Kaepernick, which increased the shoe company's digital sales 36% , while raising its stock 6.25 percent, and adding $6.38 billion to the company's value left us with nothing but another slogan and another feel good moment to be reposted on Facebook.
For, Business is warfare, if you didn't know. Because, Nike could easily have built a shoe factory in any impoverished neighborhood in the states, while paying them livable wages instead of producing these cheap jays overseas and exploiting the people with another overpriced product.
But, they are driven by profit not the people. See, Nike wanted to neutralize Kaepernick by changing his narrative and diversifying his original protest against police brutality.
Honestly, have we already forgotten about the community members, who confronted a circle of police in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood over a "bait truck" filled with Nike shoes, which were allegedly left open by police aiming to lure potential (thieves) in a sting operation designed to arrest Black youth?
Have we forgotten the Adidas JS Roundhouse Mids, which caused an uproar on-line in 2012, because of their plastic “shackles” that many felt resembled those worn by slaves and inmates along with Adidas pitchman Kanye West's recent foolish- Slavery is a choice comment on TMZ.
Yes, we are in a Sneaker War, where LaVar Ball, the Crown Prince of Chino Hills, upset the sneaker world last year when he decided to design his own signature shoe for his son Lonzo under their Big Baller Brand logo. Or, Stephon Marbury, who attempted to build his own Sneaker Empire $30 at a Time to rival the Nike and Reebok shoe monopoly.
The former NBA point guard, in fact, has said and tweeted several times over the past year that Nike and "Michael Jordan have been robbing the hood,” for years while claiming that their pricey $120 basketball shoes are no different than his ($15-$45 )Starbury sneakers that he sells out of China.
Well, recently, we learnt that Marbury was telling the truth like Kat Williams.
Why? Because, according to recent police records, a counterfeit operation, containing a half million pair of generic Nike Air Jordan's, worth $70 million, ran by five individuals:, Miyuki Suen, Jian Min Huang, Songhua Qu, Kin Lui Chen and Fangrang Qu, who were later charged with counterfeit trafficking conspiracy and trafficking in counterfeit goods- took the counterfeit Jordan's from China, and added the Jump Man logo on the merchandise in Brooklyn and Queens, before distributing and selling them.
Each defendant faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison
As reported by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) last year, international trade of counterfeit goods represented upwards of 2.5 percent of overall world trade, or $461 billion, in 2013, in which Rolex, Ray Ban, Louis Vuitton, and of course, Nike, are brands that "seem to be more intensely targeted by counterfeiters..."
by eric d.graham (fouls & fumbles) (bobbeethehater.blogspot.com)
