Trouble it seems is brewing between Adidas and Bella Hadid over the campaign of a pair of kicks that she modelled for. She is apparently pondering taking the Three Stripes to court

Bella Hadid in an Adidas as featuring the SL72 Munich Olympics shoe

As the Olympics approaches, there seems to be more damaging news regarding sports brands. Rumours are rife that Bella Hadid is considering suing Adidas. The model is apparently displeased with how Adidas handled the seeming fallout following the campaign in which Ms Bella appeared wearing a pair of what was touted as “the next Samba”—the SL72 Munich Olympics shoe. If you have been even moderately active online these past two days, you would have learned that the SL72 ad did not stir one’s desire to purchase, but to hit out. In fact, the SL72, with a rather strange start in its history, is now considered controversial if only because of the terror that blighted the Olympics of that year. Without conducting a lengthy history class, the 1972 summer Olympics saw what has been labelled the “Munich Massacre.”

In the second week of the games, eleven athletes and coaches from Israel, as well as a German constable were killed in the Olympic Village by Palestinian members of the militant group Black September. The killings basically “overshadowed” the Games and put a spotlight on security in Germany’s sporting facilities. It was during this time that Adidas’s SL72 debuted. When the Adidas ad appeared, presumably to cash in on the current Olympics fever, Netizens were quick to pointed out the sneakers’ not-so-straightforward history. The Internet has been predictably divided: Some think that the shoes need to shake-off their unpleasant past, some think Adidas was being disrespectful to Ms Hadid, a “proud Palestinian” by ethnicity. Even the Israeli government weighed in, taking to X to express their disapproval of Adidas’s choice of model for the SL72.

Possibly fearing further furore, Adidas pulled the ads. They told NBC News that they’re “revising the remainder of the campaign.” Despite the association to the historical events, what the sneaker launch evoked, according to Adidas, was “completely unintentional”. Not long after that, TMZ reported that Ms Hadid, who makes news even when just modelling on the runway, was “readying for legal battle with Adidas.” It is not quite certain what really peeved Ms Hadid other than Adidas’s apparent “lack of public accountability”, according to TMZ. It seems Ms Hadid was upset that a brand such as Adidas would put out a campaign that calls up memories of a tragic event. It is not known if Ms Hadid was aware of the implications of the commercial when she agreed to shoot the ad. Or, if she knew of the SL72’s unfortunate association.

Update (23 July 2014, 19:10): Adidas has apologised to Bella Hadid for what it describe as “negative impact” its ”Munich Olympics-themed ad” had on Ms Hadid, as well as the other models who appeared in the campaign. Ms Hadid has not said anything publicly about her dismay. However, on social media, she deleted images of herself wearing the SL72

Photo: Adidas