Former FSU basketball player's children help design shoe for Nike, Olympian Jewell Loyd
Justice Swann – a child on the autism spectrum — loves to draw smiley faces.
On his schoolwork.
On the driveway.
Even on the walls leading upstairs in his home.
“It’s the funniest thing – we can’t put a marker or a pen down for a minute or we will end up with smiley faces everywhere,” said Laci Swann, his mother and wife of former Florida State basketball player (2004-08) Isaiah Swann.
They are also on a new Nike shoe, too – the Jewell Loyd Player Edition of the G.T. Cut 3.
When Nike asked the Olympic gold medalist and two-time WNBA champion of the Seattle Storm what direction she wanted to take her Player Edition shoe, she thought of 6-year-old Justice, her best friend’s son.
Loyd pointed to Justice's creativity, "beaming smile. His love for drawing. His endless joy."
“This shoe is one of a kind with a great story and journey behind it,” Loyd told the Tallahassee Democrat. “The design is personal and meaningful to me but most importantly (to) the Swann family.”
Olympian, pro basketball's Jewell Loyd collaborates with Swann's children on Nike shoe design
Nike sent an email last year to the Swanns that informed the Tallahassee residents that Loyd wanted Justice and his sister to help design her new shoe.
The company sent blank mockups of G.T. Cut 3, and Justice and his 9-year-old sister, Sloan, went to work.
Nike incorporated their ideas that included Justice’s favorite drawings (smiley faces, flames and lightning bolts) and Sloan’s color choices, patterns and handwriting that feature phrases often said by the Swann family such as “Got You!” and “Go Be Great.”
“Got You” is how Justice, who is non-verbal but is learning to gather his words, initiates the game of tag with his father Isaiah.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 44 children in the United States today.
Jewell Loyd to partner with Swann family's non-profit organization
Loyd's Nike G.T. Cut 3 basketball shoe will be available to purchase on May 15. The colorful shoe is much more than a shoe, according to Loyd.
“I wanted to create a shoe like nothing I’ve ever seen before with a story that can shine light on Autism awareness,” Loyd said.
“I’ve learned so much from Laci and her family and wanted to share the story so other families can connect through storytelling and art.”
Swann and Laci, also an FSU alum and current Ph.D. student at the university, met at FSU and have been married 10 years.
Isaiah Swann, who scored 1,053 career points at FSU and played professionally overseas for more than a decade, played in Nike’s elite league as a youth and continues to wear the company’s shoes.
Swann said “it’s an amazing feeling” to have his children help design a new Nike sneaker.
“How cool is this? Now I get to wear my kids’ shoes,” said Swann, whose oldest child, Jaylen, plays football and baseball at Godby High. "It's mind-blowing."
Even more importantly – and another reason to smile – Loyd is partnering with the Swann family’s nonprofit, Little Boy Blue Foundation, to host a summer camp for children with autism.
The camp is scheduled for July at Roberts Elementary.
“This is a great opportunity for the city to really come together to support our autism kiddos and their families," Isaiah Swann said.
"We plan to bring more programs and events to the Capital City, and what better way to begin than by hosting a summer camp in the very place that has been pivotal in raising our children.”
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Former FSU basketball player's children design Jewell Loyd Nike shoe
