NBA star to release Liverpool trainers, fans annoyed
Re-posted from Yahoo! UK/EuroSport
Basketball superstar LeBron James is a minority owner of Liverpool FC so he has decided to honour them by releasing a "Liverpool edition" pair of trainers.
A nice gesture for sure, but the design has already angered Liverpool fans due to key mistakes on the shoe.
As a story on the official website of Liverpool owners New England Sports Ventures says: "The shoe features the signature LFC red on the outsole and 18 league championship trophies on the bottom."
However, the trophy used to represent the club's league triumphs appears to be modelled on the Premier League trophy — a trophy that the club has never won.
Instead, all of Liverpool's 18 triumphs came before 1993 when the trophy design was changed.
The trainer also cannot use the official Liverpool crest as they are made by Nike and the Reds official suppliers (currently Adidas, soon to be Warrior Sports) so it instead uses an emblem that is "directly inspired by the Liverpool crest"
"Sneakerheads and Liverpool fans are buzzing at LeBron James' new shoe. The LeBron 9 Low 'Liverpool Edition' will bring the LFC brand to the hardwoods and streets around the world," said the NESN story.
"James is both a minority owner and avid fan of Liverpool FC. It is only fitting that the NBA superstar married an old passion (basketball shoes) with a newer one (historic English soccer club)."
However, despite NESN's enthusiastic release, fans quickly left comments on the story, blasting the design.
"Get rid of those designs immediately. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PORTRAY A LIVERBIRD - PLEASE ENSURE THE DESIGN IS 100% Correct," said Faith Fulcher.
"Oh PLEASE someone correct this quick... LeBron really doesn't need this kind of egg on his face...," said Tyler Yaeger
The website said: "No release date has been set, but there are rumours it will drop on May 5 - the day Liverpool plays Chelsea in the FA Cup final."
LeBron James plays for the Miami Heat in the NBA and is considered by many to be the best basketball player since Michael Jordan and is the favourite to win a third MVP title this season.
Photos via http://www.nesn.com/ / http://nikelebron.net/
