Converse's "Loaded Weapon"
Converse's

In the fall of 2003, Converse launched its "Loaded Weapon" basketball sneaker, an updated version of the "Weapon," which Magic Johnson and Larry Bird made famous in the 1980s. The company had terrible timing: shortly before the shoe's launch, Baylor University basketball star Patrick Dennehy died after being shot by a teammate.

During 2003 and 2002, NBA players Jayson Williams, Gilbert Arenas, and Allen Iverson all faced weapons-related charges. Soon after the "Loaded Weapon" hit stores, some African-American history scholars cried foul. Converse stuck by its decision, and released a statement claiming, "This is merely the name of a shoe."


By Ben Toren @FortuneMagazine - Last updated July 20 2012: 1:00 PM ET
Join the Conversation
JC Penney CEO: It may get worse before it gets better

JC Penney CEO Ron Johnson addressed his naysayers at Fortune Brainstorm Tech. The transformation of the embattled retailer has only just begun.

Most Popular
 
 
 
 
 

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.