Scoring in fashionable style: TMU athletes’ shoes take their fits to the next level

By Eli Silverstone

In 2016, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) partnered with Nike to supply its sports teams with apparel. This included uniforms and equipment for the varsity teams while also being available to club and recreational teams based on their budgets, as previously reported by The Eyeopener. 

Since then, Nike has provided the men’s and women’s basketball teams with shoes that consist of TMU’s primary blue and white colours. But this doesn’t mean every player has to wear them. 

Athletes can add some flavour to their on-court appearance through shoes that help them stand out from the rest of their teammates and opponents, displaying confidence and individuality that showcases some swag instead of seeking attention. 

Second-year guard Michael Kayembe of the men’s basketball team encapsulates this. 

“Look good, feel good, play good,” said Kayembe. “If I don’t like how they look, I’m not going to wear them.”

In a pre-season interview, Kayembe was identified by his teammates—first-year guards Landon Wright and Maxime Louis-Jean, as well as fourth-year forward Elijah Roye—for having the best shoe game on the roster. His creativity, unabashed style and depth of collection earned him this unofficial title. 

“Going into the season, I wanted the Sabrina 2’s so I got some Nike ID ones in black with gold accents. Those are custom, so no one else is really going to have that,” said Kayembe, who believes he’s worn about 10 to 12 different pairs of kicks during his two years at TMU. 

But none of those shoes were brighter than a pair of “Green Gecko” Puma Lamelo Ball MB.01’s he wore a fair bit throughout his rookie season.

“I just felt like they stood out, they were loud and that’s what I was going for,” said Kayembe. 

Professional athletes such as WNBA player Sabrina Ionescu—the namesake of the Sabrina 2’s—and LaMelo Ball—internet personality and player for the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA—often use their own shoe and clothing deals with companies such as Nike and Puma. 

While the pros have plenty of sponsorships to help them take their style to the court, that doesn’t mean U Sports athletes can’t flaunt in their own way.

“They were loud and that’s what I was going for”

Taking a step out of the ordinary and into a flashy pair of kicks was a trend this season, and one not limited just to basketball. First-year outside hitter Rayanna Amos-Ross Fisher of the women’s volleyball team has received many compliments for her shoe game during her rookie year with the Bold. Similar to Kayembe, Amos-Ross Fisher has been rocking Ball’s Puma line, in her case, a hard-to-miss pair of iridescent purple and blue MB.04’s. 

“I’ve always liked bright-coloured shoes…I still like when people play with white knee pads and white shoes, but that’s just not what I like to play in,” she said.

Because basketball and volleyball involve some similar physical movements, the shoes are transferable. As a result, volleyball players such as Amos-Ross Fisher have chosen to wear basketball shoes on the court not only because of their in-game characteristics but also because they tend to have better style options. Nike does not provide the volleyball team with volleyball shoes, nor the same basketball shoes the basketball teams get.

“I would say 60 per cent [of volleyball players] wear basketball shoes,” said Amos-Ross Fisher. Still, if you asked her if she’d play in the hypothetical Nike shoes, she “probably wouldn’t want to wear them anyways,” choosing to stick with louder colours.

When fifth-year forward Callie Wright announced she was returning to Canada after spending four years in the National College Athletes Association, she not only brought wisdom and experience but also some style to the TMU women’s basketball team.

In an Instagram post announcing her commitment to the Bold—standing beside her brother Landon, who plays for the men’s basketball team—Callie wore the Kay Yow Nike Kobe 6 shoes she was provided back in her freshman year at Memphis University. 

Currently, the cheapest available pair of the Kay Yow Think Pink Kobe 6 on StockX—an online marketplace and clothing reseller—goes for about $4,800. The head coach of the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team, former NBA player Penny Hardaway, has his own shoe line with Nike and was able to hook both the Tigers’ men’s and women’s squads up with the shoes. 

“Nike sponsored teams with shoes for the breast cancer [awareness] game. The [following] year, we got the pink Kyrie’s which I wore this year,” said Callie.

Callie stuck with those pink Kyrie 7s all season, going with a shoe she felt comfortable in but also one that had some flair to it. 

“I view every game as the same. Don’t get too up, don’t get too down. If I switch up my routine, it would throw me off so same shoes, everything’s consistent,” she said. “I just like how these are different, they’re pink and they stand out.”

To be able to rock bright shoes, you have to match them with both confidence in yourself and in your game. These three Bold athletes represent that confidence while bringing self-expression and style to the Mattamy Athletic Centre court every day. 

“Most importantly, I can’t really wear a shoe that’s heavy,” said Amos-Ross Fisher. “And then for sure, style. I can’t wear an ugly shoe, I would cry.”