Sneaker News Through an Instagram post, Jordan Brand recognizes the 40th anniversary of the foundational moment of the Air Jordan legacy. On October 18th, 1984, Michael Jordan wore black/red Nike sneakers in the NBA game, which later prompted the NBA to send a letter to Rob Strasser, then the VP of Nike, Inc., informing to company of its wrongdoing.
Although it wasn’t the Air Jordan 1 that Michael Jordan wore on that fateful night, the “Banned” storyline became tied to the sneaker through a special edition Air Jordan 1 “Banned” release in 2011 and through much heavier marketing efforts in 2016. It was eventually uncovered that the Air Ship was on Jordan’s feet, which Nike/Jordan later released in 2020.
This Instagram post is also being viewed as an confirmation of one of the most anticipated drops on the 2025 Jordan Release Dates calendar — the upcoming Air Jordan 1 Hi ’85 “Bred”. Although that information has yet to be corroborated on any official level, this image could be the first step towards a bigger marketing storyline to not only promo the sneaker in proper fashion, but to re-energize the Air Jordan 1 business as a whole.
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Jordan Brand’s Instagram post with crumpled “Banned” letter
- The NBA’s original “banned” letter to Nike, Inc. NBA
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- The actual shoes that were banned by the NBA Jordan Air Ship
