Well, yeah. What did you think would happen if you packed hundreds of NBA-All-Star-Game-Crazed Orlandians into a mall parking lot and offered only some of them the chance to buy a pair of exclusive kicks? They’d be crazy not to riot.
According to reports, crowds began to gather outside a Foot Locker Wednesday night ahead of the shoe’s release but were initially kept a fair distance from the store entrance. At some point, however, one person ducked the cordon and broke for the store. Hundreds followed in a stampede of desperation and poor taste. “I saw hundreds of people running toward me. I thought I was going to get trampled,” said witness Amanda Charles.
Sheriff’s deputies in full riot gear quickly arrived on the scene and restored order, pushing the mob back with shields and threats of pepper spray. There were no immediate reports of injuries, arrests, or mass pepper-sprayings.
The shoes that instigated this kerfuffle? The $US220 Nike Foamposite One, part of the Nike All-Star collection. They feature a galactic design in honour of Florida’s space industry and reportedly glow. Yeah, they totally sound worth being trampled for. [Orlando Sentinel]