New $300 Nike LeBron James Shoe Is Absurd and Unethical
By Ken Reed
Nike is expected to release a new LeBron James shoe this fall with a price tag of approximately $300. In doing so, they will be exploiting the sports hero worship mindset of millions of young Americans, including poor inner city youth. (Who else is the target for these shoes? It certainly isn’t middle-aged males.)
As they prepare for the launch of their $300 sneaker, Nike is whining about a drop in their gross profit margin from 44% to 43%. It’s so hard to feel sorry for Nike while average Americans struggle in an ongoing recession – and when considering that the typical small business gross profit margin in this country is between 25% and 35%.
Of course a $300 sneaker — manufactured overseas, potentially in sweat shop conditions (Nike has a track record with sweat shops) — targeted at impressionable teenagers would go a long way toward boosting Nike’s profit margin.
Gouging is nothing new for Nike. The Oregon company has been gouging consumers since the advent of its Air Jordan line of sneakers in 1985. But the gouging has intensified in recent years. Consider that Nike is expected to unveil a new Air Jordan in December for $185, a 33% increase in price over the ’85 model when adjusted for inflation.
Targeting the nation’s youth with a $300 LeBron shoe is simply unethical. It can also spark violence among teenagers who see the LeBron shoes as an out-of-reach status symbol.
“It’s the consumer’s choice after all, but it’s insensitive to market a $300 shoe to kids and teenagers as people are going back to school and struggling to buy school supplies,” says Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. “This is not food, this is not rent, it’s a single pair of sneakers.”
Nike’s move toward a $300 basketball shoe is more than just insensitive. It’s one more example in the company’s long history of a profits-at-all-costs approach to business.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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For more on League of Fans’ past work regarding Nike & LeBron James, see:
Nader and League of Fans Ask LeBron James to Support Workers’ Rights in Nike Factories – December 4, 2003
Nader & League of Fans ask LeBron James to help workers in Nike factories – March 21, 2007
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #22 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Rethinking Sports Fandom with Author Craig Calcaterra – We discuss Calcaterra’s new book “Rethinking Fandom: How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex at Its Own Game” and explore new ways to be a fan in the year 2022.
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Episode #21 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Chatting About a Broken Game With Baseball Writer Pedro Moura – Moura is a national baseball writer for Fox Sports. We discuss how and why the game of baseball is broken, what factors caused it, and offer a few thoughts on how to “fix” a great game.
Episode #20 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Coaching Youth and High School Sports Based On What’s Best for the Athlete’s Holistic Development – We chat with long-time youth, high school and college basketball coach Jim Huber.
Episode #19 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Capturing the Spirit of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League with Anika Orrock – We discuss the hoops AAGPFL women had to jump through to play the game they loved as well as the long-term impact and legacy they have in advancing sports opportunities for girls and women.
Episode #18 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking about the 50th Anniversary of Title IX and the Lia Thomas Controversy with Nancy Hogshead-Makar – Hogshead-Makar is a triple gold medalist in swimming, a civil rights attorney and CEO of Champion Women.
Episode #17 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking Sports With Legendary New York Times Sports Columnist Robert Lipsyte – We chat about Lipsyte’s amazing career and some of the athletes he covered.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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