WASHINGTON 鈥� Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, who was raised in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, unveiled his new shoe, the for sale Wednesday. And though the Nike sneaker is intended to pay tribute to his hometown, local officials have taken issue with the name.
The KD8 ‘P.G. County’
鈥� Nike.com (@nikestore)
, the abbreviation from 鈥淧rince George鈥檚鈥� to 鈥淧G鈥� was a point of contention among county supervisors, as the term is, to some residents, 鈥渁 pejorative.鈥�
鈥淲e would certainly prefer that it was 鈥楶rince George鈥檚 County,鈥欌�� Barry Hudson, the spokesman for county executive Rushern Baker told NBC 4, saying that they reached out to Nike upon learning of the name.
But not everyone believes the semantic hair is worth splitting. Melvin McCray, a former coach of Durant鈥檚 in Seat Pleasant, points out that the star has donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Seat Pleasant Activity Center.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 鈥楶G County,鈥� whether it鈥檚 鈥楶rince George鈥檚 County,鈥� I think we all should just enjoy the moment and just embrace it,鈥� McCray told NBC 4.
, Durant began his 2014 NBA MVP acceptance speech by referencing his hometown, saying 鈥淚 come from a small county outside of Washington, D.C., called P.G. County.鈥�
