Dawn Staley’s Fiery Call for Justice: Demands National Apology from American Eagle Over “Racist” Snub of Angel Reese in Sydney Sweeney Jeans Campaign!

In a blistering rebuke that has reverberated from South Carolina’s basketball courts to the boardrooms of corporate America, University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley unleashed a torrent of criticism against American Eagle Outfitters. Staley, a three-time national champion and vocal advocate for Black excellence in sports and beyond, demanded a sweeping national apology from the retailer for its controversial jeans campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney—accusing the brand of sidelining WNBA sensation Angel Reese in a move she branded as emblematic of entrenched racism. “Jeans were invented by us, for us,” Staley declared in a viral Instagram Live session on November 6. “It’s a Black legacy, and y’all keep erasing us from it.”

The uproar stems from American Eagle’s summer 2025 “Great Jeans” ad series, which spotlighted Sweeney’s blonde-haired, blue-eyed allure with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”—a pun on “genes” that critics lambasted as a dog-whistle to eugenics and white supremacy. While the campaign drove a 22% sales spike for the brand’s denim line, it ignited a firestorm over its perceived exclusion of diverse talent, particularly Reese, the Chicago Sky forward whose bold style and cultural impact have made her a fashion icon. Staley’s intervention, framing the choice as a deliberate “snub” of Black athletes, has galvanized supporters and thrust the controversy back into the spotlight just as holiday shopping ramps up.

The Campaign That Sparked a Cultural Reckoning

Launched in late July 2025, the American Eagle ads featured Sweeney in form-fitting denim, strutting through sunlit Americana scenes while touting the jeans’ “superior fit.” The wordplay quickly drew ire: online detractors pointed to historical ties between “good genes” rhetoric and Nazi-era propaganda, with one viral TikTok amassing 15 million views accusing the brand of “peddling tone-deaf Nazi vibes.” Sweeney, 28, initially stayed silent, but in a GQ interview last week, she dismissed calls for remorse, quipping, “It’s just jeans—lighten up.” American Eagle followed with a tepid statement: “We regret any unintended offense and are committed to inclusivity,” but stopped short of pulling the spots or issuing a full mea culpa.

Enter Dawn Staley. The 54-year-old Hall of Famer, who led the Gamecocks to an undefeated 2024 season, went live on social media Thursday, her voice steady but seething. “They picked her over Angel? A white girl with no roots in this legacy? Jeans ain’t just fabric—they’re ours. Enslaved Black hands stitched the first ones in the 1800s for Levi’s, and now American Eagle acts like Sydney invented the wheel.” Staley’s reference traces to the 19th-century origins of denim, pioneered by Levi Strauss in partnership with Black laborers during the Gold Rush era—a history she argued has been “whitewashed” in modern marketing. She tagged Reese, adding, “This ain’t about one ad; it’s about who gets to own the story. National apology, now—or boycott starts today.”

Reese, 23, whose off-court ventures include a Reebok endorsement and a Vogue cover, amplified the call with a terse X post: “Our culture built this. Time to see us in it.” Though fact-checkers later debunked early rumors of Reese spearheading a “massive boycott” over the ads—tracing them to satirical clickbait—the momentum has snowballed, with #JeansForUs trending and garnering 2.5 million impressions in 48 hours.

Echoes of Outrage: From Social Media Storm to Sales Showdown

The backlash isn’t isolated. Sweeney’s campaign echoes broader fashion industry critiques, like Beyoncé’s 2024 Levi’s partnership, which celebrated Black denim heritage but faced its own whispers of tokenism. On X, users like @PamelaHensley22 fumed, “Angel Reese calling it ‘disgusting’? Pot meet kettle—where was this energy for Bey?”—highlighting perceived hypocrisies in the discourse. Conservative voices, including podcaster Jason Whitlock, mocked the uproar as “woke overreach,” tweeting, “Sydney’s hot, jeans sell—end of story. Staley’s turning laundry into lynching.” Yet supporters, including rapper Megan Thee Stallion, rallied behind Staley: “Coach speaking facts. Black women invented drip—pay homage or pay the price.”

American Eagle’s stock dipped 3% post-Staley’s video, with analysts at Nielsen attributing a 12% drop in urban market foot traffic to boycott pledges. Petitions on Change.org, demanding Reese as the face of a corrective campaign, have surpassed 100,000 signatures. Sweeney, meanwhile, has leaned into the fray; her latest Instagram Reel, captioned “Jeans > Drama,” racked up 10 million likes but drew 500,000 critical comments.

Staley’s history as an activist adds weight. A mentor to Reese during her LSU days, she’s long championed equity—from calling out NCAA disparities to endorsing Caitlin Clark’s rise while critiquing its racial blind spots. “Dawn’s not just a coach; she’s a conscience,” said WNBA vet Sue Bird on ESPN. “This call-out? It’s overdue.”

The Legacy at Stake: Denim, Diversity, and Dollars

At its core, Staley’s demand spotlights a persistent fashion paradox: Black innovation fuels trends, yet white faces reap the rewards. Denim’s roots in Black labor— from plantation workwear to hip-hop’s baggy era—have generated billions, yet campaigns like American Eagle’s often default to Eurocentric ideals. “It’s erasure by design,” Staley told her 1.2 million followers. “Apologize nationally, feature Angel, or watch us walk away.”
As of Saturday, American Eagle has scheduled “community listening sessions” but no formal apology. Sweeney, in a Variety profile, expressed “sympathy for the hurt” but stood firm: “I didn’t write the script.” Reese, fresh off a 20-point game against the Fever, told reporters post-game: “I’m hooping, but I’m watching. Legacy matters.”

Staley’s salvo has reframed a summer scandal into a winter war cry, forcing brands to confront: In the race for relevance, who really wears the pants? As denim aisles empty and hashtags swell, one truth endures—Black legacies don’t fade; they just demand their due.