The basketball world was abuzz last week when photos of LeBron James’ Air Max VIIs were allegedly “leaked.” The images were of a blue and orange colorway that could have been passed off as Cavaliers throwbacks – at least until the image of the sole had the infamous I Heart NY graphic with the James logo of a lion replacing the heart.
Unfortunately for Knicks fans as well as those who cannot get enough scandal or controversy, The NY Post reports that the shoes are in fact a hoax and stemmed from an eBay auction.
[James being a member of the Knicks is] so surreal that a hoax was perpetrated on the Web in the past days — reporting Nike had released pictures of a soon-to-be released new Knicks LeBron shoe in blue and orange — with “I love New York” pictured on the orange sole along with “L23″ shaped in a question mark. A Nike spokesman told The Post yesterday it was a fake. It looks as though it’s being sold on e-Bay, so buyer, beware.
The Post rarely passes up a chance to stir the LeBron James-to-New York pot. Certain blogs took credit for “leaking” the photos when in fact they were featured on NikeLeBron.net days before the shoes went mainstream. Once ESPN caught wind of said images, it did not take long for the whirlwind of “how could LeBron allow this” talk to take flight.
Cavaliers fans who were offended by these shoes can now sleep soundly. At least until James does something else New York-related.
Pingback: Nike Continues to Cash in on LeBron James’ Pending Free Agency | WaitingForNextYear