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Orlando Magic big man Jonathan Isaac is releasing his new signature sneaker, the Judah 2, which will feature six Bible verses.
For Isaac, an outspoken Christian with many conservative views, the goal of the shoe is to not be afraid to voice your opinion. But suddenly, with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, that goal means that much more.
“It’s about free expression,” Isaac told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “It’s about I’m a Christian guy, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and king of the world and lord and savior of my life, and I want to wear these shoes as a tribute to Him. And anybody who wants to do the same, join me.
“If you disagree with me, I’ve always tried my best with whatever stances I’ve taken to be graceful about it and truly try to care and understand the person that’s on the other side of it. Maybe we agree to disagree, but I’m never the type to try to impose myself on anybody else.”
Isaac befriended Kirk over the years, appearing on his podcast and texting back and forth on occasion. Like many others, Isaac took the terrible news hard.
OREGON COACH DELIVERS POWERFUL UNITY MESSAGE AFTER ASSASSINATION OF DUCKS FAN CHARLIE KIRK
“It’s tough to put into words. … Really the only thing that I can say is just to speak to who Charlie was. Everybody will talk about what Charlie has said and his stances and stuff like that – Charlie had my respect,” Isaac said. “Not because I agreed with everything he had ever said or done. Some of the conversations we had was even me disagreeing with things he said. But we always had civil discourse, and he was always prepared to talk about why he thought what he thought. To me, that’s a respectable man.”
One of Kirk’s goals was similar to Isaac’s with his new sneakers.
“Let’s build this thing as a brand to unite Christians, lovers of God, lovers of country all across the nation, and give them a touchpoint to know each other, recognize each other, but also, to have their faith right in front of them,” Isaac said of his sneaker, and why he places Bible verses on them.”
The Judah 1 was “completely sold out,” according to Isaac, so he wanted to step up his game this go-around.
“I was like ‘let’s take it to another level’ in terms of the design. I wanted to move the verse from the back of the shoe to the front of the shoe…” he said. “Just ones that speak to me and to the team. What would be encouraging as a believer to be in a basketball game? What would you want to read? What would you want to hear?
“One of our shoes, the Judah 2 Mighty Warrior, the verse is the Angel calling Gideon a mighty warrior when Gideon didn’t think of himself as a mighty warrior to begin with. So that little verse is, ‘I’m stepping onto the court, I’m lacing my shoes.’ And right there on the tongue, I have a verse that says ‘I am a mighty warrior.’ And that encourages you to go out and play your best.”
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