Is Gophers point guard Isaiah Washington getting a raw deal with Nike 'Jelly Fam' shoe?
The “Jelly Fam” movement was created by incoming Gophers point guard Isaiah Washington and his associated moves — including the jelly layup — have made him a social media star with more than a quarter of a million Instagram followers already.
Having a shoe associated with you before you even hit college might seem like a prestigious thing … but if you look at it from another perspective, it might follow more closely with exploitation.
See, Washington is still an amateur and therefore cannot reap any of the financial benefits from the shoe. Washington doesn’t have a trademark on “Jelly Fam” and isn’t profiting from it, per that last link. But that doesn’t mean other people can’t profit from it.
Plenty of people have taken notice of this on Twitter — including Washington himself as well as Brooklyn Nets point guard Isaiah Whitehead, who like Washington is a New York native.
Lol That’s Crazy How Much My Lil Bro @Jellyfam_Dimes Got Paid For This? ???? https://t.co/JnNAOlYSln
— Isaiah Whitehead (@IsaiahW_15) August 18, 2017
It’s crazy bro they know I can’t so they just take advantage https://t.co/5dFuvJb8qu
— isaiah Washington (@Jellyfam_Dimes) August 18, 2017
Most of the rest of the Twitter chatter centers around the notion of exploitation as well.
I’ve reached out to Nike’s media relations staff to see if they have any comment, and I will update the post as warranted.