Republicans Do Still Buy Sneakers

“And so, in an age of divisive politics, Nike had suddenly found a way to embrace and commodify protest; they would have a free marketing base like no other…”

Since the advent of 2020, the hip brand Nike has released over forty new variations of its much-coveted Air Jordan sneakers, with a further sixty styles expected to follow before the holiday season. Manufactured in the spring of 1984, the original Air Jordans were produced exclusively for the future six-time NBA Finals MVP Michael Jordan, before being made available to the public later the same year. The production of this new retro line has skillfully coincided with the release of the already critically acclaimed ESPN production The Last Dance, which documents Jordan’s swan song—the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-98 title-winning season—while also covering other significant chapters in the “Black Cat’s” remarkable career. In this premeditated renaissance, the value of Air Jordan merchandise has once again skyrocketed, with the resale value of the legendary Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” sneakers recently doubling, making them a worthy investment for anyone looking to profiteer from the renewed brand interest in the one they simply call Mike.

As a first-round pick of the 1984 draft, Jordan became quickly regarded as one of the best players in the NBA, and he soon started pulling lucrative sponsorship deals. As such, he notably appeared in advertisements for the would-be corporate giants Gatorade and McDonald’s. But, ultimately, it was with Nike and the creation of the Air Jordan sub-brand that fostered the most successful and profitable of collaborations, propelling Jordan into the realm of brand-made manifest. Designed by Peter Moore, Tinker Hatfield, and Bruce Kilgore, Air Jordans were marketed as embodying the limitless spirit of Michael Jordan—a spirit personified by his unparalleled leaping ability that had earned him the nickname of “His Airness” and is captured in the iconic Jumpman logo. Indeed, when kids queue for hours—if not days—to buy these $250 kicks, they are not just buying footwear, they are buying an idea; they are buying into the boundless dream of Michael Jordan: the American dream.

It would no longer be a choice of this brand or that brand, this sneaker or that sneaker; suddenly buying a brand of shoe would be a political act.

For decades Air Jordan, both the man and the brand has largely avoided controversy, maintaining a carefully curated image centered entirely around one man and his dedication to being the best at his craft. However, in The Last Dance, Jordan is challenged on why he refused to endorse Democrat Harvey Gantt, an African American, who was running against the incumbent Republican Jesse Helms, who had filibustered both the Voting Rights Act and the Senate’s proposal to establish Martin Luther King Day, during the 1990 Senate race in Jordan’s home state of North Carolina. Jordan, who, at the time, had already won the first of his five NBA MVP awards, explained away his actions (or, rather, his inaction) by simply and famously stating “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”