Sneakers that come with prison orange shackles to wrap around your ankles?
That was Adidas' idea for the "JS Roundhouse Mids" it planned to start selling in August. It was to be "a sneaker ... so hot you lock your kicks to your ankles."
Was to be, that is.
As CNN writes this morning, the German company has now canceled its plan to sell those sneakers after they "generated significant criticism" on Adidas' Facebook page.
Adidas has issued a somewhat standard-style apology, CNN adds:
"The design of the JS Roundhouse Mid is nothing more than the designer Jeremy Scott's outrageous and unique take on fashion and has nothing to do with slavery," the statement said. "We apologize if people are offended by the design and we are withdrawing our plans to make them available in the marketplace."
Among those who were highly critical of Adidas was Rev. Jesse Jackson. In a statement, he said:
"The attempt to commercialize and make popular more than 200 years of human degradation, where blacks were considered three-fifths human by our Constitution is offensive, appalling and insensitive. Removing the chains from our ankles and placing them on our shoes is no progress. ... These slave shoes are odious and we as a people should be called to resent and resist them."
Other products that have caused offense recently include, you may recall, "Schweddy Balls." Foods are ripe for causing folks to cringe, as BuzzFeed has noted.
Update at 11:50 a.m. ET. How Did We Forget 'Five Wives' Vodka?
Drink Up! Idaho OKs 'Five Wives' Vodka.
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