Nike delays Travis Scott sneaker in wake of Astroworld

Nike has postponed the release of a sneaker project with Travis Scott in the wake of the Astroworld music festival’s crowd surge that left 10 people dead and hundreds injured.

The release of Nike’s Air Max 1 X Cactus Jack was postponed “out of respect for everyone impacted by the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival,” Nike said on Monday, according to Forbes. 

Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

The business move comes as lawsuits pile up after a forceful push of people towards the stage during the rapper’s performance in Houston, Texas eventually left several people dead and dozens injured.

Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump said he and his team intend to represent over 200 people in lawsuits surrounding the fatal stampede that took place during the festival.

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña indicated that Scott should have paused the concert all together when things got out of control. 

“We all have a responsibility. Everybody at that event has a responsibility. Starting from the artist on down,” Peña said last week. 

“At one point, there was an ambulance that was trying to make its way through the crowd. And he’s got, the artist has, command of that crowd,” he added. At the time, Peña also noted that he was “not prepared” to accuse Scott of being “fully aware” of what was happening at the time.

But a representative for Scott has said that the rapper was not responsible for the incident. 

“I mean this notion that Travis had the ability to stop the concert is ludicrous. They have a 59-page operations plan, and it clearly says the only two people that have the authority to stop the concert were the executive producer and the concert producer,” Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a spokesperson for Travis Scott and a former Baltimore mayor, said last week. 

“He was not responsible for this, but he wants to be responsible for the solution,” she added. 

Scott has said he would pay for the funeral expenses for the people who died at the event.