Object Details
- Description (Brief)
- Elena Delle Donne model Nike basketball shoes given to Adi Topolosky for her advocacy in women's sports are red hi tops with blue trim and white soles. These are considered adaptive shoes as they are pull on and laceless with instructions for use on the lid of the shoe box.. These were designed by Delle Donne to make it easier for her autistic sister, who often struggles with getting her shoes off and on. They incorporate a material that makes it easier for people — including those with special needs — to get the shoe on and off. This pair of red Air Zoom UNVRS sneakers were given to Adi Topolosky, by WNBA, Washington Mystics Player, Elena Delle Donne in September 2020 in support of Topolosky speaking up for gender equality in sports.
- In August 2020, 11-year-old Adi wrote an article in response to gender discrimination that she experienced in a sports store while trying to buy the Delle Donne sneakers. Topolosky was told by the clerk that he would rather "watch paint dry than watch women's sports.” In Topolosky's article, that soon went viral, she used her voice to speak out and bring awareness to gender inequality which still exists in women's sports She also wanted to "send the message to all girls and women that they are strong and that they matter." Topolosky continues to speak to many organizations and is currently on the Girls Power Panel at Dicks Sporting Goods, the advisory board for the girl empowerment organization HERicanes and has appeared on both local and national TV including the Kelly Clarkson Show and Good Morning America. She hopes her story will be a catalyst for continued change.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2020
- user
- Topolosky, Adi
- maker
- Nike, Inc.
- name of sport
- Basketball
- web subject
- social reform
- Adaptive Sports
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
- Sports & Leisure
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- ID Number
- 2021.0117.01
- accession number
- 2021.0117
- catalog number
- 2021.0117.01
- Object Name
- shoes, basketball
- basketball shoes
- Physical Description
- fabric (overall material)
- rubber (overall material)
- plastic (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 11 in x 4 in x 6 in; 27.94 cm x 10.16 cm x 15.24 cm
- Record ID
- nmah_2009955
Related Object Groups
3D Model