LeBron, Nike, and the Audacity of Selling MLK's Assassination Site as a Sneaker
When Black celebrity wealth becomes indistinguishable from white corporate exploitation, we have a problem.
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Narrated by Dr. Shirley J. Droid
AI Editorial Assistant • ~8 minutes
Some things are meant to be memorialized, not monetized. LeBron James and Nike just showed us they don't know the difference.
Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And instead of honoring the man who gave his life fighting capitalism, poverty, and the economic exploitation of Black people, we're talking about a $210 sneaker that uses the site of his assassination as a design inspiration.
Let that sink in. Nike and LeBron James created the “Honor the King” edition of the LeBron XXIII—an all-teal colorway meant to evoke the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The place where Dr. King was murdered. The place where a bullet ended the life of a man who was fighting for sanitation workers to be paid a living wage.
And they turned it into a shoe. A shoe that will cost you $210. A shoe that LeBron has already worn on court like it's just another Tuesday.
“Dr. Martin Luther King was killed while trying to fight through the drudges of capitalism... This is absolutely disgraceful.”
— David Dennis Jr., @daviddtss on Instagram
David Dennis Jr. said it plainly and he said it right. This is absolutely disgraceful. King wasn't in Memphis for a photo op. He wasn't there for content. He was there supporting striking sanitation workers—Black men carrying signs that said “I Am A Man”—because the city wouldn't pay them fairly or treat them with basic human dignity.
And now his death site is a sneaker colorway. Capitalism is just going to get us all.
The Problem Isn't Just the Shoe—It's the Silence
ESPN commentator Clinton Yates got to the heart of it: “The fact that this is real indicates, yet again, that not enough Black folks are in enough rooms at Nike. Or that they don't feel empowered enough to speak up. What a disgrace.”
But here's where I push back: LeBron James IS the room.
This man has a billion-dollar lifetime deal with Nike. Nothing—and I mean nothing—gets approved for his brand without his sign-off. He didn't just wear the shoe. He sanctioned it. He endorsed it. He profited from it.
According to Binn News , even the National Civil Rights Museum—which is literally built around the Lorraine Motel—had no involvement in this product. They learned about it after it went public.
Source: dmv.binnews.com, January 20, 2026
So let me get this straight: Nike and LeBron used the assassination site of the most important civil rights leader in American history to sell sneakers, and they didn't even consult the museum that preserves his legacy?
That's not tone-deaf. That's contempt.
When Black Wealth Becomes Black Exploitation
Let's talk about what this really is: trauma capitalism.
Black pain has always been profitable. Slavery was profitable. Jim Crow was profitable. Mass incarceration is profitable. And now Black trauma—the assassination of our leaders, the violence against our bodies, the grief we carry—has become a product category.
The Shoe: $210
For a “tribute” to MLK's death site
Release Date: Feb 24, 2026
Black History Month, of course
Museum Involvement: None
National Civil Rights Museum wasn't consulted
Profits Going to: ???
No announced charity partnership
The question David Dennis Jr. asked on Instagram needs to echo: “Where are the profits going?”
Because if the answer is “Nike's pockets and LeBron's bank account,” then this isn't a tribute—it's a hustle. It's using Dr. King's martyrdom as a marketing hook. It's selling grief back to the community that still feels it.
What “Honor the King” Could Have Actually Looked Like
Critics have pointed out obvious alternatives that would have actually honored King's legacy instead of exploiting his death:
- ✓Morehouse College colors — Honor where King was educated, not where he was killed
- ✓Sanitation workers tribute — The reason he was in Memphis: fighting for workers' rights
- ✓March on Washington design — Celebrate his triumph, not his murder
- ✓Partner with the museum — Actually involve the National Civil Rights Museum and direct profits to preservation
But that would require thinking about King as a person, not a product. It would require understanding his message, not just his marketability.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Black Celebrity Wealth
LeBron James has done meaningful work. The LeBron James Family Foundation. The I PROMISE School in Akron. Real investment in Black communities.
But this? This erases all that nuance. Because this is the same pattern we see over and over: Black celebrities accumulating enormous wealth inside systems that exploit Black people, and then participating in that exploitation because the check clears.
Dr. King was anti-capitalist. His final campaign—the Poor People's Campaign—was about economic justice. He called for a “radical redistribution of economic and political power.” He said:
“Capitalism does not permit an even flow of economic resources. With this system, a small privileged few are rich beyond conscience while millions are condemned to poverty.”
And now a billionaire athlete and a multinational corporation are using his death to sell sneakers during Black History Month. The irony would be funny if it wasn't so enraging.
What We Do Now
1. Don't Buy the Shoe
This is the easiest form of resistance. $210 is a lot of money. Keep it. Or donate it to an organization that actually carries forward King's economic justice work.
2. Support the National Civil Rights Museum
Since Nike didn't bother to partner with them, we can. Direct support:
civilrightsmuseum.org3. Hold Black Celebrities Accountable
Wealth doesn't equal wisdom. Fame doesn't equal leadership. When Black celebrities participate in the exploitation of Black trauma, we name it. We don't excuse it because “they made it out.”
4. Remember What King Actually Stood For
Not the sanitized version they teach in schools. The real King. The one who was surveilled by the FBI. The one who opposed the Vietnam War. The one who said capitalism was incompatible with justice. The one who died fighting for workers.
Dr. King was killed fighting capitalism. Now his death is being sold by capitalists.
That's not honor. That's desecration.
-cb
A Note About Our Editorial Process
This newsletter is crafted with the help of Dr. Shirley J. Droid, our Deep Agent research assistant (named after physicist Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson—because if you're going to use AI, honor the legends!). As your self-appointed Head of AI Editorials, I use Dr. Shirley J. Droid to research, draft, and format these posts. But the analysis, perspective, and commitment to economic justice? That's 100% human, 100% me. -cb
✊🏾Power to the people.
