The NBA had placed shoes in a similar category of unfair enhancement methods. How much of an advantage can these shoes provide for the players? The Athletic Propulsion Labs were banned for being too good to be worn by the NBA. Is that a negative thing or a compliment. With the previous ban of other sport shoes and accessories, it may seem that the NBA has a problem with most athleisure wear. Is Athletic Propulsion Labs still written in the books of NBA’s “not allowed” or have they upped their game to impress the league?
The Notorious Athletic Propulsion Labs: are they still banned?
Wanting to create exclusive, training sneakers for performance enhancement on the court, the Goldston brother, Ryan and Adam created a pair that is great, but unfortunately too great. Straight from the University of Southern California, the active students (in football and basketball) had an entrepreneurial initiative that wasn’t taken seriously by tutors until it manifested into the APL concept 1 design.
No startup capital and no previous experience in the sneaker space, the brothers marketed their brand in SLAM Magazine, with a double page ad titled: “Stop dreaming, jump higher”. The brothers, “…broke it down into ‘What part of your foot do you explode off of?’” with Ryan further continuing, “We broke down each of the variables that would work in our favor.”
The interest in the enhancing shoes came from many including sports professionals, agents and finally the NBA. After months of investigating, the NBA finally answered the brothers, however not an approval. Although this was the case, the brand received the opportunity to showcase their products “to many shoe geeks but also to professional players who had contracts with other brands but wanted to have our shoes too.”
Celebrating 10 years of Athletic Propulsion Labs, the brothers introduced two new designs, Superfuture and Concept X, which are both priced at $400, and a decrease of performance-enhancing technology. Ryan Goldston said, “We wanted to make it bigger, faster, stronger.” The brand’s recent innovation is the Streamline, on sale for $300. The concept was brainstormed during a trip to Tokyo, observing the texture of the pancakes being “thick but soft and light.”
With so much persistence, APL is still creating sneakers. Perhaps the NBA acknowledged their persistence as they lifted the ban one year (2011) after they had shut down APL concept 1 design. APL received attention, not just from sneakerheads but “…a large amount of NBA guys and WNBA players that do wear our shoes,”. Ryan further says, “We just can’t talk about it since a lot of them have contracts… we can’t stop anyone from buying our shoes.”
Details covering APL’s 2010 ban: what is it about these shoes?
The APL Concept 1 design is ruled against by the NBA, for its “unfair competitive advantage”. Allowing the player to jump higher by 3.5 inches, the design has a spring effect. While the shoes were banned by the league, they were selling great due to the public gain, which contributed to the NBA’s ban lift. The 2010-11 season set a lot of uniform regulations such as players only wearing sneakers from accredited brands.
Historical product bans from the NBA
From Dwyane Wade’s designer band-aids to APL sneakers, one ban that stands out is the red and black Air Jordan 1 in the 80s. Contrasting NBA colour, these sneakers were not allowed on court, but that did not stop Nike and Chicago Bull’s Michael Jordan, with Nike paying the star’s $5,000 fine every time he wore them. Jordan said, “We are all like kids. If your parents told you not to do something, you felt more like doing it…”
Athleisure and accessory bans are not as common as players and coaches being banned from games. Is the NBA now less strict on uniform or have players and brands been behaving? With the rise of popularity from its NBA ban in 2010, the Athletic Propulsion Labs continued to create innovative sneakers that are going to enhance the performance of players. With so many enhancing equipment and AI in sports, will there be a line the NBA another sports leagues can draw over what equipment is or not allowed?
