Nothing to Do With Slavery': Adidas Cancels 'Shackle Shoes' With an Apology

Following a massive public outcry, Adidas has canceled its line of JS Roundhouse Mids "shackle shoes."  Originally debuted on Facebook, the shoes have been deemed "ignorant," "racist," and "repulsive" for their connotation with slavery and prison inmates.

(Related: 'Promoting Slavery'?: Adidas Under Fire for Sneakers That Include Orange Shackles)

CNN explains:

The high-top sneakers, dubbed the JS Roundhouse Mids, were expected to be released in August, according to the Adidas Originals Facebook page. "Got a sneaker game so hot you lock your kicks to your ankles?" a caption below a photo of the sneakers read.

The June 14 post prompted plenty of criticism from around the Web, with many of those commenting saying they felt the shackle invoked the painful image of slavery.

"Wow obviously there was no one of color in the room when the marketing/product team ok'd this," said a commenter, identifying herself as MsRodwell on nicekicks.com.

"I literally froze up when I saw a new design from Adidas set to hit stores in August," Dr. Boyce Watkins said in a post for the website Your Black World.

Though dismissing the criticism in a written statement by defending the sneaker's designer, Jeremy Scott, as having a "quirky" and "lighthearted" style, Adidas nonetheless said Monday that it planned to cancel the shoe's release.

"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...We apologize if people are offended by the design and we are withdrawing our plans to make them available in the marketplace," the official statement reads.

Since the news swept the media yesterday, the Reverend Jesse Jackson slammed the Adidas shoes, even asking NBA Commissioner David Stern to intercede.

"The attempt to commercialize and make popular more than 200 years of human degradation, where blacks were considered three-fifths human by our Constitution is offensive, appalling and insensitive," he commented.