Michael Jordan’s “Air Jordan” shoes may be one of the most appreciated pairs of sneakers in our world today and have had many good and bad impacts in our society since they were introduced in 1984.

In those 31 years, Air Jordan has evolved from the original basketball shoes to models for different uses, such as casual shoes and running shoes. Air Jordan currently sponsors 21 active NBA players, including Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Ray Allen, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony. The Jordan brand also sponsors other leagues such as the MLB, NFL, NASCAR and WNBA.

The first Air Jordan 1 was produced for Michael Jordan and was designed in a red and black colorway to match the uniform of the Chicago Bulls, the team for which Michael Jordan played. This colorway was later outlawed by NBA Commissioner David Stern for having little white on them. Jordan would wear the shoes anyway, and each time he stepped on the court wearing Air Jordan 1s, he would be fined five thousand dollars.

Nike would then use this as a promotional tool in its advertisements, hinting that the shoes gave an unfair advantage and that whoever wore them had a certain edginess associated with outlaw activities. This marketing standpoint was just the beginning in what led to 29 different models of the Air Jordans that came out over the years from 1984 to 2015.

Brebeuf students Deshawn Blakely ‘16, Malachi Rice ’17, and Kobie Mcneal ‘17 all agreed that their favorite design was the Air Jordan BRED 11. The 11’s came out in 1998 when Michael Jordan won one of his many championship rings; BRED stands for black and red because those were the colors of the Bulls.

Although the Jordan brand has had many successes over the years, there have also been some negative aspects.  Because this shoe is so well liked, when stores decide to re-release a Jordan shoe, people will go as far as literally killing someone for them. For example, on December, 20, 2014, there was a fatal shooting in a Cincinnati mall when a few teens tried to steal a shopper’s limited edition Jordans. This was just one of many cases where someone has lost their life over a pair of Jordans.

This led to many people ridiculing the Jordan brand, such as ex-NBA player Stephon Marbury, who criticized the fact that kids are getting killed over sports shoes.

Despite the deaths, the Jordan line is still the top sneaker brand. Even after 31 years, people continue to spend tons of money on this brand of shoe.