Can Shoes Be Racist? Adidas Pulls Plans For Sneakers With Shackles

Adidas has officially scrapped plans for a controversial pair of kicks that many people felt evoked images of slavery. The sneaker company posted a photo of the shoes -- the JS Roundhouse Mid -- on their Facebook page last week, which sparked thousands of comments debating whether the shoes were racist. Check out the photo below the jump and tell us what you think.

Via: adidas Originals Facebook page.

The designer, Jeremy Scott, defended the design on Twitter, explaining that his inspiration was actually the '90s children's toy My Pet Monster, which featured almost identical shackles:

MY WORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN INSPIRED BY CARTOONS, TOYS & MY CHILDHOOD...twitpic.com/9y0bzx

— JEREMY SCOTT (@ITSJEREMYSCOTT) June 18, 2012

In any case, the controversy apparently reached its boiling point, prompting adidas to pull the plug. From a statement provided by the company to USA TODAY Monday evening:

"Our collaboration with Jeremy Scott has always stood for creativity and originality. Jeremy Scott is renowned as a designer whose style is quirky and lighthearted & his previous shoe designs for adidas Originals have, for example, included panda heads and Mickey Mouse. 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. Since the shoe debuted on our Facebook page ahead of its market release in August, adidas has received both favorable and critical feedback. We apologize if people are offended by the design and we are withdrawing our plans to make them available to the marketplace."

What do you think? Did adidas cave too early, or was the design a mistake from the start? Vote in the poll and tell us in the comments.