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AirJordans made for Spike Lee and donated to shelter auctioned for $50,000

Published:Wednesday | December 20, 2023 | 12:06 AM
James Free poses for a photo with a pair of of gold Nike AirJordan 3 sneakers at the Portland Rescue Mission on October 30, in Portland, Ore. The sneakers, designed in 2019 for filmmaker Spike Lee, that were donated to the homeless shelter, sold for nearl
AP
James Free poses for a photo with a pair of of gold Nike AirJordan 3 sneakers at the Portland Rescue Mission on October 30, in Portland, Ore. The sneakers, designed in 2019 for filmmaker Spike Lee, that were donated to the homeless shelter, sold for nearly $51,000 at auction on Monday.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP):

Watching a countdown of the auction’s final minutes on Monday, Erin Holcomb couldn’t believe it: the sale price kept jumping for the rare, gold Nike Air Jordan 3s that were anonymously dropped in the donation chute of the Oregon shelter where she works in Portland.

“In the last five minutes it went up and up, and every time we saw that number increase, there were tears and people clapping,” Holcomb, director of staff ministries at the Portland Rescue Mission, told The Associated Press.

The sneakers, one of just a few custom pairs that had been made for filmmaker Spike Lee, ultimately sold for $50,800 – more than double the high end of the predicted sale price. All proceeds will benefit the Portland Rescue Mission, which has served people struggling with homelessness, hunger and addiction since 1949.

“We couldn’t believe it,” Holcomb said. “The generosity of this moment has been a huge celebration for our whole organisation.”

Some two dozen people, mostly staff, gathered Monday morning to watch the auction live on a big screen TV in one of the shelter’s conference rooms, Holcomb said. Among them was James Free, a formerly homeless man who found the shoes while sorting through donations and brought them to the attention of the staff.

“I’m just so happy to be a part of this,” Free said in a news release shared by the shelter.

The sneakers were on auction at Sotheby’s, along with a replacement box and other Nike merchandise donated by Tinker Hatfield, who custom designed the sneakers for Lee in 2019.

Lee wore his pair to the Academy Awards that year. The donated sneakers weren’t Lee’s personal pair, but were among a few made for him to give out to his inner circle. Hatfield visited the shelter and authenticated the shoes.