Step into Philip Merrill’s new Sneaker Journalism class
Though it sounds cut and dry on the outside, Merrill’s Sneaker Journalism class covers a lot more than just sneaker releases, as the overarching project for the class is to create a documentary on a murder that took place in the city during a Nike sneaker release.
“No one has really reported on it,” Professor Jamaal Abdul-Alim said. “There’s bits and pieces here, but no story.”
In between working on the documentary, the class discusses current happenings in the sneaker industry, such as retired basketball player Michael Jordon’s NASCAR pit crew debuting new Air Jordans at the Daytona 500 and the controversy that followed the event.
Prior to the class starting, Abdul-Alim created customized assignments for each student based on their interests.
Landon Witles, a senior journalism major, is working with two classmates to write a story on how Bad Bunny’s debut of the BadBo 1.0 Adidas collaboration during his halftime performance has affected Adidas sales and brand recognition.
“The resale prices are over $100 for the sneakers,” Witles said. Retail prices for some pairs are steadily climbing to $300.
Senior journalism major Nyla Cherry’s assignment is a multimedia project about Black Olympic runner Jesse Owens. In 1936, he became the first Olympic runner to represent a sneaker company. Owens was sponsored by and wore spikes made by German brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler.
“Jesse was pretty influential,” Cherry said. “He ended up winning four gold medals at that same Olympics.”
Shortly after the Olympics, tensions steadily rose between the Dassler brothers, causing them to separate, with Adolf Dassler founding Adidas and Rudolf Dassler founding Puma.
Cherry said Jesse Owens had a huge influence on the sneaker industry and played a role in Adidas and Puma becoming the major brands they are today.
Abdul-Alim is the founder of Sneaker Theory, an organization that analyzes the influence of sneakers on the world and aims to bring shoe culture into education. Cherry is an intern for Sneaker Theory and attended Sneaker Con in Washington, D.C., where she produced a video on the event for the company.
“It was just really cool to see the sneaker community all in one place, and hearing different stories of how long people spend building their collections,” Cherry said.
Outside of history and current events, the class covers the social demand surrounding sneaker releases. Witles mentioned a reading the class did on the fear of missing out, widely known as FOMO, and how it relates to sneaker culture.
“I feel like that’s kind of the most important thing we’re talking about,” Witles said.
Cara Salpini is a writer and editor for Retail Dive, a news organization that covers fashion, retail technology and marketing. Salpini spoke to the class about an article she wrote on Nike’s 2026 second-quarter earnings call, allowing students to dive into the economics of the sneaker business.
“I’ve never personally gotten that much insight into a business,” Cherry said. “I also didn’t realize how accessible [the information] was through public records.”
The end goal of the course is for each student to be published in at least one reputable news publication, such as Sneaker Freaker Magazine or the Fashion and Style sections of The New York Times.
“I feel like this class is exactly what classes should be [in] senior year,” Cherry said. “I’m taking a class that is about something I’m passionate about. I get to explore my own interests while still learning.”