Thursday, October 21, 2010

NBA Bans 'Tricked' Out Sneakers or "You Can't Be Like Mike"


For the second time ever, the NBA has banned players from using a particular brand of sneaker.

However, to get a perspective on this decision, you'd have to travel back to 1985 and the debut of Michael Jordan and his namesake foot gear, the Air Jordans. See, the NBA at the time had a strict dress code when it came to sneakers: all-white coloring, NO exceptions. So whenever MJ (Jordan, not Jackson) strode onto the court  wearing these black and red Nikes, he got slapped with a $5,000 fine. EVERY time. And Nike paid his fines, EVERY time.

So, the decision to ban use of the Athletic Propulsion Lab Concept 1 (APLC1), which contains a spring-based system that adds 3 inches to your vertical leap, is not unprecedented. Like any other sports organization, the NBA has a specific ruling that forbids such game-enhancing gear from being used.

Which means, if you want to play in the NBA and your jump shot sucks, you're screwed. Unless you sell a lot of shoes. In which case, Nike will pay all your bills.

(Via DVICE)

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