When LeBron James stepped on the court wearing mismatched sneakers in the nation's capital, it wasn't a fashion statement by the NBA's most popular athlete. The message was clearly emblazed in gold on the back of his kicks, one white and one black: Equality.
Sneaker enthusiasts around the world eagerly await NBA All-Star weekend when new and limited editions of the latest shoes make their debut, but the month leading up to the highly anticipated shoepalooza is often used to make a social statement.
Starting with Martin Luther King Day and coinciding with Black History Month, players and companies honor the past and create dialogue about the future through footwear.