The internet is ablaze — and it’s not just about denim.
On Thursday night, Dawn Staley, the legendary coach who led the South Carolina Gamecocks to an undefeated 2024 season, took to Instagram Live to deliver what many are calling one of the most impassioned cultural takedowns of the year. Her target: American Eagle. Her reason: what she calls “a deliberate erasure” of Black history and culture in the brand’s latest ad campaign.
The controversy ignited earlier this week when American Eagle revealed its new “Timeless Threads” collection, fronted by actress Sydney Sweeney. But what might’ve been a routine fashion launch quickly turned into a cultural lightning rod once fans noticed who wasn’t included — Angel Reese, one of the most recognizable faces in women’s basketball and an outspoken symbol of Black empowerment.
“Jeans were invented by us, for us. It’s a Black legacy,” Staley said, her tone firm, deliberate, and unmistakably personal. “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.”
Her statement hit a nerve. Within hours, “Dawn Staley” was trending across social media, alongside hashtags like #BlackDenimHistory and #ApologizeToAngel. Many fans flooded American Eagle’s posts with comments calling for accountability and demanding that the company address the “whitewashing” of denim’s origins.
Cultural historians have long documented that the earliest denim garments were indeed made and sewn by enslaved Black laborers in the American South — hands that turned cotton into a global industry, never credited, rarely remembered. Staley’s comments, though raw, tapped into that buried truth.
“It’s about who gets to be seen as ‘authentic,’” one fan wrote on X. “Angel Reese represents the same resilience and creativity that gave birth to denim culture. Sydney Sweeney? She’s talented, but she’s not the face of that story.”
American Eagle has yet to release an official response, though sources inside the company reportedly said the team was “blindsided” by the backlash.
But Staley, 54, is known for standing her ground — whether courtside or online. “I’m not anti-Sydney,” she clarified in her livestream. “I’m anti-erasure. Black women built this country’s soul, its rhythm, its style. Don’t take our stories and sell them back to us without credit.”
As of Friday morning, Angel Reese herself has not commented publicly on the matter, though she liked several posts supporting Staley’s remarks — a subtle but unmistakable nod.
Meanwhile, fans and cultural critics alike are asking the same question: how long before corporate America realizes that diversity isn’t just a casting choice — it’s a reckoning?
For now, one thing is clear: Dawn Staley didn’t just call out a brand — she reopened a national conversation about history, ownership, and who gets to wear the crown of American style.
