The Urban League Urges Nike to Drop LeBron X Shoes

The president of the National Urban League urged Nike Inc. to abandon plans to release the company's new LeBron X sneakers, saying he received "incessant phone calls and emails" from angry consumers who balked at the Beaverton, Ore., athletic-gear maker's rising sneaker prices.

Marc Morial, president of the civil-rights group and the former mayor of New Orleans, was responding Tuesday to a report in The Wall Street Journal that the new sneakers named for basketball star LeBron James are likely to go on sale for more than $300 a pair.
The basketball shoes come with built-in electronics that measure how high wearers jump and how far they run. Analysts say they expect Nike to issue a relatively small number—about 50,000—of the $300 shoes, with a less-expensive version of the shoe, without the electronics, likely to cost $180, or $10 more than the previous edition, the LeBron 9.

Mr. Morial said he didn't usually take stands on consumer products. "It's the consumer's choice after all, but it's insensitive to market a $300 shoe to kids and teenagers as people are going back to school and struggling to buy school supplies," he said, noting that he was wearing a pair of Nike Free sneakers on Tuesday. "This is not food, this is not rent, it's a single pair of sneakers."


Mary Remuzzi, a Nike spokeswoman, said the price of the shoes hasn't yet been set.

source