Indiana University Quit Wearing Fear Of God Uniforms As Rumor Blames Kanye West's Antisemitism

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First, Jerry Lorenzo‘s Fear of God brand made luxe athleisure affordable with its Essentials collection, and now it is genuinely entering the athletic sphere by developing college basketball uniforms.

One of the first college programs to get the opportunity to rock FoG x adidas threads was Indiana’s men’s and women’s basketball teams at the former’s game against Penn State and the latter’s against Ohio State.

However, the partnership appears to have been suspended just one day after the beige and red jerseys were unveiled on Instagram.

“Indiana men’s and women’s basketball programs will not be wearing the Fear of God uniform design in any upcoming games. IU will continue to proudly wear Adidas apparel, including our traditional basketball uniforms,” IU athletics said in a statement from The Herald-Times.

Indiana didn’t give a reason for reneging on the kits –which they wore last season–, but in a now-deleted tweet, IU student journalist Ian Plaskoff said it’s because of Lorenzo’s association with Kanye West and his recent barrage of antisemitic tweets.

“BREAKING: The Indiana athletic department has shut down the debut of the Adidas Fear of God uniforms previously planned for this weekend, per @IUJGray. The decision comes in connection to the brand’s association with Kanye West amid his recent antisemitic actions,” read the tweet.

The claim has not been confirmed, but it wouldn’t be the first time Ye’s rants have led to lost business opportunities, including his own deals with adidas, Gap, and other companies refusing to work with him after he promised to go “death con 3 on Jewish people.”

While Ye isn’t directing involved with Fear of God, he’s a known associate of Lorenzo and was one of the first big stars to wear the brand in its beginnings –even attending its first fashion show at the Hollywood Bowl in 2023–  and help build its influence into the staple its become. The two first connected after West noticed his designs and asked Lorenzo to work on his APC capsule collection. Since then, their connection has become strained, with Lorenzo telling Complex in 2023, “Anyone that knows Kanye will tell you it’s a tough relationship to hold on to.”

Lorenzo has been the Global Head of adidas basketball since 2020, so Indiana’s decision to halt the collab directly combats the three stripes’ goal to build its basketball sector. There’s no telling if the outfits planned for Miami and Kansas will be nixed, too.

See how social media is reacting to the last-minute jersey swap below.

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