Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman and into some controversy. The NBA will likely ban Kanye West‘s newly-designed Yeezy basketball sneakers, according to ESPN. Adidas-sponsored athletes were expected to debut the shoe on the court during the 2018-2019 season, but the NBA took issue with how much 3M reflective tape is used on the style. The association believes that the shiny heels of the shoe will prove too distracting for audiences both in the arena and at home. Every season, NBA officials have to sign off on new designs from sportswear brands ahead of their game-time appearance. While they have yet to officially review the new Yeezys, a source told ESPN they likely would not be permitted, although a version without the reflective element would be. This isn’t the first time the rapper’s shoe designs have been banned from professional athletics: Back in 2016, Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was fined $6,000 by the league for wearing Yeezy cleats on the field during the opening game of the NFL season. Hopkins’ cleats violated the league’s uniform policy by not having a solid base color. The footballer told ESPN that he would cease wearing the shoes in the future, unless “Kanye wants to pay the fine.”<doc-sep>This week has been a tough one for West and it may have just gotten worst. Kanye West is still reeling from backlash over his controversial pro-Donald Trump rant over the weekend, but the rapper could be bracing for even more bad news, according to a report. The NBA will likely ban Kanye West's highly anticipated Adidas basketball sneaker this season due to the shoe’s design, ESPN reported Monday. Adidas athletes were expected to debut the new shoe on the court during the 2018-2019 season, but NBA officials are unlikely to approve the kicks without a redesign, according to the report. Citing sports industry sources, ESPN said the NBA would find the shoe’s gleaming reflective heels far too distracting for audiences in the arena and at home. NBA officials must OK new designs from brands ahead of each season. The NBA hadn't formally reviewed the new Yeezy shoe as of Monday, but the design West showcased most recently would not be permitted as is, a source told ESPN. Versions of the sneaker without the reflective design would most likely be approved, according to the source. West showcased the shoe in a handful of Instagram posts last week, accumulating more than 2 million likes and comments, collectively. He also wore them during his appearance on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, when he delivered a surprise pro-Trump rant and claimed he would run for president in 2020. The last week has been a rough one for West: The "SNL" audience booed him as he voiced support for Trump, some fans denounced him, and he pushed back the release of his new album, “Yandhi,” by nearly a month. West offered a bizarre set of tweets on Sunday saying he supported "abolishing" the 13th Amendment. He later clarified it should be amended, not abolished. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the U.S., "except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." West, who sported a "Make America Great Again Hat," said of his appearance on "SNL": "They bullied me backstage. They said, 'don't go out there with that hat on.' They bullied me backstage. They bullied me! And then they say I'm in a sunken place." West faced fierce backlash over the appearance, but he also scored Trump's praise. “I don’t watch Saturday Night Live (even though I past hosted it). No longer funny, no talent or charm. It is just a political ad for the Dems," Trump tweeted. "Word is that Kanye West, who put on a MAGA hat after the show (despite being told ‘no’), was great. He’s leading the charge!”<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>Kanye West’s latest fashion foray, into basketball shoes made by Adidas for NBA players, may have hit an early snag. The current version of Yeezy basketball shoes for NBA players - set to debut this season - would be banned by the league in games “because of its gleaming, reflective material heel, according to industry sources,” ESPN reported Monday. The problem is with the reflective 3M heel panel that the “NBA would find potentially distracting for both in-arena spectators and television viewers,” according to ESPN. The league goes through an approval process for on-court shoes, and the Yeezy sneaker has not gone through the approval process. Citing a source, ESPN said the league would not permit players to wear the Yeezy shoe as it’s currently designed. Alterations to the shoe – the absence of the 3M reflective heel panel – could be approved by the league and worn by players this season. In a recent Instagram post, West said the shoes were three years in the making with more than 300 updates. This season, players do not have to wear shoes matching their team’s colors, but shoes still must be approved the league. According to a story on nicekicks.com, the league approves shoes for the first half of the season in August and again in early December for the second half of the season. Follow Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt<doc-sep>
Kanye West is expected to debut his first-ever Yeezy basketball sneaker on the feet of Adidas athletes during the upcoming NBA season. But the league office would ban the current version of the sneaker on court because of its gleaming, reflective-material heel, according to industry sources. While the monochromatic sneakers won't violate the league's footwear color restrictions, the issue is the reflective "3M" heel panel, which the NBA would find potentially distracting for both in-arena spectators and television viewers. Carmelo Anthony faced a similar issue with the metallic chrome heel of his Jordan M10 signature sneakers while playing for the New York Knicks. He later wore an updated version with a matte paint finish. The NBA wouldn't approve shoes with the reflective detail, but likely would approve alternate versions of the shoe. Kanye West Players are no longer required to wear shoes matching their team's uniform colors, but the league still has an approval process for new silhouettes from brands in advance of the season. According to Christopher Arena, the NBA's vice president of identity, outfitting and equipment, companies will typically submit sneakers for the first half of the season by early August, with shoes scheduled to be worn after the All-Star break required for approval by early December. While the league office has yet to receive and formally review the new Yeezy basketball shoe in person, the version shared online by West would not be permitted on court as is, according to a source. Alternative versions of the sneaker that don't incorporate the reflective material would likely be approved. The league has banned or issued warnings for several sneakers in its history, most famously Michael Jordan's black and red Nike Air Jordan 1 sneaker in 1985. Nike almost instantly turned the buzz around the Bulls star's banished debut sneakers into a marketing campaign, vaulting the signature series into rare air and sparking the dawn of collectible-sneaker culture. Three decades later, the Jordan Brand has become its own fully fledged subsidiary of the Nike Inc. company, with annual revenues topping $3 billion. In a recent post on his @KanyeWest Instagram, the Chicago native explained that his Yeezy basketball shoe has been in development for over three years and undergone nearly 300 sample updates. The new model is expected to finally make its much-anticipated debut during the 2018-19 season, with Adidas non-signature athletes like Donovan Mitchell, Brandon Ingram, John Wall, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Nick Young potentially wearing the shoe in early 2019. Retail release dates and a finalized price point have yet to be determined. Earlier Monday, during an interview with paparazzi in Los Angeles, West discussed his long-term vision for his collaborative brand with Adidas and his eventual goal to bring the manufacturing of his sneaker line stateside. "The Yeezys will be made in America," he said. "We're putting a factory in Chicago."