The pricey white sneaks feature a dark blue signature Nike “swoosh” with dark blue detailing and the presidential logo on the tongue flap. The numbers “44” in blue and red stitching are also embroidered on the inner side of each shoe. Graphics including bald eagles and “1776” are engrained on the insoles.
Sotheby’s says on a listing for the shoes that the “deadstock Nike Hyperdunks are considered one of only two pairs in existence” with the other made for Obama in 2009. The pair “was not owned, or worn” by the former commander in chief, the site says.
Sotheby’s wouldn’t reveal on Tuesday who provided the shoes to the auction house, but when asked how the pair were authenticated, Brahm Wachter, the director of eCommerce development for Sotheby’s, said the company is confident they were produced by Nike.
“Through our research, due diligence and consultation with the consignor, we have every confidence that the sneakers are an authenticate confirmation sample produced by Nike,” Wachter said Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Obama declined to comment to CNN about the shoes. CNN has reached out to Nike for comment.
Although Obama, a basketball enthusiast since youth, is no longer in office, he has remained an influential fixture on social justice reform among athletes and the Hyperdunks aren’t the first shoe designed with the former President in mind.
Source: CNNPolitics – Breaking News
