For the past few years, Nike has been giving their legal team quite the workout byconstantly filing lawsuits against any and everyone who dares to try to make a buck off the Nike name. Now, adidas is turning to its own legal counsel as they’re taking Sole Retriever to court over an apparent extortion attempt.
According to Hypebeast, on March 12, adidas filed a lawsuit against Sole Retriever, alleging that the people behind the popular sneaker app were committing “corporate extortion” by threatening to leak their trade secrets along with unreleased product imagery in exchange for preferential treatment. In their lawsuit, adidas is accusing Sole Retriever and its founder, Harris R. Monoson, of threatening to leak adidas’ upcoming sneaker lineup if the brand didn’t keep its promises made to Sole Retriever. In an email sent in August of 2025, Sole Retriever wrote, “Just a heads up — we have the full AE2 lineup in every colorway… The ball is in your court. Either we start getting treated with the level of respect we’ve earned, or we’ll plan accordingly.”
Hypebeast reports:
Just two days later, Sole Retriever allegedly followed through, posting a “speculative mock up” of the AE2 “Bred” colorway to Instagram and X—an image adidas claims was a highly confidential, stolen file. By September 11, the platform leaked the “Lucid Red” and “Blue Fusion” colorways, labeling them as “official” images complete with style codes and a $130 USD retail price. Despite adidas issuing a formal warning the following day demanding the return or destruction of all unauthorized materials, the leaks continued.
In January 2026, the brazen disclosures jumped to an entirely new product cycle. Sole Retriever obtained and posted confidential, computer-aided prototype designs (CADs) for the upcoming Anthony Edwards 3 and D.O.N. Issue 8 lines. The AE3 post alone pulled in over 12,200 likes, with the platform’s account allegedly boasting in the comments that the images came “directly from the brand.” The lawsuit notes that these materials were provided by unnamed individuals—listed as Does 1 through 5—who adidas suspects may include internal employees based in Oregon.
Interestingly enough, the streets weren’t that hyped about the new Anthony Edwards sneakers (no shots), but still, Monoson felt that that info held enough weight to get adidas to play ball. If this were top-secret Yeezy information during adidas’ red-hot Yeezy run, we’d understand, but the Anthony Edwards?! (Again, no shots).
Now that adidas is seeking to settle the matter under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, Sole Retriever may be on the hook for as much as $150,000 per willful infringement, which in turn could lead to a seven-figure penalty once it’s all said and done.
What do y’all think about Sole Retriever attempting to extort adidas in such a manner? Sound off in the comments section below.
