Donovan Mitchell to donate proceeds from new sneakers sales to college fund for Jacob Blake’s children

Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell reacts after Mike Conley made a 3-point basket against the Denver Nuggets during the third quarter in Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. | Kevin C. Cox. pool photo via Associated Press

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Donovan Mitchell’s latest signature sneaker dropped Friday and, in conjunction with the release, Mitchell announced that he and Adidas will be making a sizable donation to an education fund for the children of Jacob Blake.

The D.O.N. Issue #2 in collaboration with Marvel and Crayola is being released in two stages with the Marvel Spidey Sense edition released Friday and the Crayola editions set to come out on Oct. 2.

On Wednesday morning, Mitchell, who wears the No. 45 on his jersey, shared a video on social media announcing that he would be donating $45,000 of the proceeds from the shoe sales, with Adidas agreeing to match the $45,000 donation, to a college fund for the children of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday.

“Education reform is something I really believe in,” Mitchell said. “Being able to be taught on a level playing field is something I believe is the key to generational success and being able to push past racism, systemic racism, voter suppression and everything.”

The news of Mitchell’s donation and his latest shoe release also comes on the day the NBA announced it would resume play Saturday following three days of games that were postponed after the Milwaukee Bucks sparked a string of protests by not playing.

The NBA and the players association came to an agreement to resume play with the formation of a social justice coalition as well as the teams engaging with officials in NBA markets to use team-owned properties as polling sites in order to increase voter accessibility.