NBA / Jun 15, 2009 / 4:12 pm
Top Sneaker Store Looted During Lakers Championship Celebration
(Photo. LA Times)
Our friends over at Sneaker Files put us on this story about a sneaker spot in L.A. called The Holy Grail that got hit in the “celebration” following the Lakers’ clinching Game 5 last night. The worst part?
The Holy Grail is a consignment shop, so not only are the store owners hurt by what went down, but also so are the consignees who get a split of the profits when their kicks are sold (unless they have some kind of solid insurance policy for the consignees).
Check out more photos HERE.
And for more pics of the aftermath in L.A. go HERE.
June 15th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
TorontoBaller says:
I don’t understand why idiots have to go and ruin a celebration like this. they do nothing but make the city and it’s citizens look like idiots.
June 15th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
fallinup says:
Fucking pathetic.
LA don’t deserve this.
June 15th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Drink the Haterade (LA LAKERS 09 Champs) says:
I agree with post 1… This is just stupid. Don’t they ever teach that if you’re gonna do somethin stupid don’t do it on your block…
Anyways, now I remember why I moved
June 15th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
boomtho says:
Dumb ass fans. Why you going to f up the town that your celebrating? idiots destroying business that make the community what it is
June 15th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
fallinup says:
Hey everybody! Our state is going broke. Our jobs are leaving. And the whole nation is in an economic death spin…..
Lakers WIN! Let’s destroy our neighborhood!
June 15th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Rare Air says:
This is just sad to see more than anything. Nothing wrong with being amped up, but why does this always have to happen. Come on LA you’re better than that. Stay down and have fun.
June 15th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
fallinup says:
There will always be stupid people.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
rangerjohn says:
1st teh laker fans try to kill a celtic fan last year, then this, hell it goes back to every riot LA has ever had, those people are just damn idiots! fallinup you are soo right on this one.
PATHETIC. i was here in houston when the rockets won their 2, very little problem, i was in SA for 99 and 05, no problems, what the hell is it that attracts idiots to LA? glad i stayed the hell out of that city.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Al says:
Why are they just showing the black guys ?
June 15th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
doc says:
I wish I was there because they wouldnt have NO size 10’s left.Fuck the bullshit!
June 15th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
E$ says:
AL, look @ the pic again….i see all races of ignorance
Another reason why it’s called Faker Nation, they just want a reason to tear up shit. I guess some people don’t know the history of LA & keep the inventory in plain sight. All we did was pop bottles when our team won, we want to do what the players are doing.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Dukesman2000 says:
The black guys are looters but the white guys are what… on their way Ruth Chris’ Steak house?
Whitey was stealing shit, too.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Duke says:
You guys know if you were there you would’ve looted that place like the rest of those crazy ass fools.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
TheNatural says:
Thats messed up. Idiots! But, don’t get it twisted it wasn’t just black floks lootin’. Anybody with a grasp of reality would know that.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
MissChick says:
Actually if you look at other pictures, the white guys in the background are some sort of camera crew/reporters.
Most of the rioters and looters are, get this, mexican.
If you take out all the low class, unintelligent, dirty, filthy mexican scum who overrun this great city, we have normal fans just like every other US city. I know it’s hard to believe… just got to trust me on this one.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
George Clooney says:
It sucks but at least my girlfriend picked me up a new pair of jordans. I just found out that she cheatd on me, so it’s all good now…kinda
June 15th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
doc says:
Damn Miss Chick.U better keep that alias or them Mexicans gonna be at ya door spitting shit like that.
June 15th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
rangerjohn says:
LMAO @ misschick
and it was the mexicans who where trying to the get the celtic fan at the staples center last year, and it was the mexicans who rioted after rodney king got his ass beat, and it was the mexicans who rioted in watts? holy shit all this time i thought it was more black then anything. how could we all be so wrong on this one?
June 15th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
This has little to do with race.
These are just flat out criminals. Low-life losers who dont give two shits about anything. They reside in every big city rangerjohn. People have rioted in many cities not just LA(Detroit,Chicago, etc).
I wouldnt even call these people “laker fans”. They were just out cause people were celebrating and it gave them the opportunity to steal and damage things with less chance of getting caught.
That is as simple as it gets…
June 15th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
quest??? says:
hahahahahahahhahaha mexicans……it a good thing puerto ricans are not there.
June 15th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
siree says:
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!! sucks to be the guy who got photographed with a arm full of boxes tho haha
June 15th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Len Bias says:
size 13 please!
June 15th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Celts Fan says:
Stay classy LA. When we won last year, not a single arrest (please don’t look at Sox “celebrations” we’re a classy city, I swear…)
June 15th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
HISTORY LESSON says:
throughout history the most wicked acts have been done by the whites they are responsible for the attempted demise of african americans as well as native americans. They shed so much blood of the innocent and even though we are free of our physical chains they still wish to keep us in mental chains and make us crooked in the eyes of society. Im proud to be an african american i know my history and i love my brothers and sisters no matter what they do they cannot stop us. Everything we have we fought for and continue to break every boundary they put on us only by the power of JESUS CHRIST. ALL GLORY BE TO GOD and i thank GOD for those of our past who took a stand for our future.NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO THEY CANT STOP US
June 15th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
[[brittany]] says:
Its so said that stupid bandwagon fans do this type of stuff…I remember when they did this in Oakland after the raiders went to the superbowl. But you are gonna steal at least be smart enough to hide your face from the camera!!! theres nothing i hate more than a dumb criminal!!!
June 15th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Really? says:
The “whites”…
Oh boy.
I believe JC was a “white” wasnt he?
Sounds like you are keeping yourself in mental chains buddy and you will never get out talking and thinking like that…
Like Bill Cosby and Chris Rock said- Let it go bro.
June 16th, 2009 at 4:18 am
David Stock says:
This is bad. I hope they all get caught.
June 16th, 2009 at 4:39 am
Sweet English says:
Fucking disgusting. Wrecked some guys life who has actually worked hard to get where he is, and all these fucking dirty ghetto rats couldn’t give a shit. And ‘celebrations’? this aint no celebration. fucking hood dwellers don’t need NO excuse to rob you.
June 16th, 2009 at 4:40 am
Sweet English says:
and @ 24.
Dude you know God ain’t real right?
June 16th, 2009 at 4:44 am
Sweet English says:
And ANOTHER thing HISTORY LESSON.
All this chat about Mental Chains and oppression of the black man. All these ‘boundaries’ we white people put up…
Dude your country just elected a black guy president you faggot.
The only boundaries you put up are YOUR OWN. Obama has clearly demonstrated that as long as you work hard you can do ANYTHING. Black OR white. The fact that you are posting this in a forum of a sport domianted mainly by millionaire black guys is kinda funny.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:16 am
flegman says:
Guys, U can live
June 16th, 2009 at 7:53 am
sweetenglish? says:
sweet english SMH LOL yeah now blacks are millionaires dominating the sport but i recall they didnt want us to be and what happened they had no choice we are superior athletes and superior at most other things but before we took over they didnt want to let us in because the fear of knowing we would take over.YES we have a black president and racism still wont go away and secondly i dont do politics because theyre all crooked think how in the world can you be running against the clinton adminstration saying how wrong they are and why you shouldnt vote for them than after he wins he makes the same people a part of his team WAKE UP PEOPLE. That is like me saying good and evil can lay on the same team and remain good or saying GOD and satan can be partners. Its all a game its all setup to usher in the new world order come on english you cant be that blind.
June 16th, 2009 at 8:39 am
rangerjohn says:
MoxWestCoastRep #19
yes i realize there are more riots then just in LA, apparently you didnt comprehend my post, i SAID i was here for both rockets and 2 of the 4 SA titles and there was nothing like this. i never said ONLY LA FANS RIOT. i do find it intersting though that the majority of major riots and hardest hit areas by this type of stuff is california. seams to me there is something wrong with those californians, just not right in the head. (relax that was a joke)i mean they did elect the terminator, who ran against a fat pornstar for governor lmao.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:02 am
smoove chips says:
@ 30
Amen already !!!!!!
June 16th, 2009 at 9:06 am
smoove chips says:
damn them 2 cats with the boxes got busted in HD !!hope they showed those pics on tv.
Everybody at they job calling em n’ shit
“eeh dawg you might not wanna come to work today coz you all on the news n shyt and they got cops waiting on your ass !”
June 16th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Sweet English says:
@32.
At the end of the day son, some people are always gonna be racist. Some blacks will discriminate against whites. Some Whites will do the same against blacks. Personally, i’v been a white male on this planet for 20 years now and i dont ever remembering oppressing no black people. Unfortunately for you, stereotypes are there for a reason. In deprived areas of your counrty, young black men spend on average 1/3 of there lives in prison. Now as racist as anyone is, there is a reason for that. And it has got nothing to do with any white people. Int fact, these youing african americans have probably come into less contact with white men than anyone else. So who is to blame?
June 16th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
rangerjohn says:
@ 36
who is to blame? THE MAN oh wait he is black too! hmmmmm who is to blame, im stumped, can you spell it out for me?
i agree english, i am pushing 40 and i have never descriminated against any race yet i get “your racist” every time i turn around and dislike a black person for what ever reason. hell i am well known for being the bigest obama hater around these parts, i get a lot of “you have obama because he is black”, when in all reality i hate obama because of his politics not his skin color. i was a huge c powell suporter he is just as black as obama hell maybe even more black lol. condi rice, had no problems with her either.
from a white mans point of view, a lot of black people bring the racism out. a lot of black people are as racist or more so then white people. and before i get all of the “you where not made to be a slave” BS, nobody here was ever a slave, your parents where not slaves, i would be willing to bet not a single person ehre can actually trace their roots back to a specific slave family.
now back on topic of this thread, it is not about race it is about ignorance. it amazes me, “our team won lets go fuck up some of our OWN SHIT!” or “fuck the man lets go burn down our OWN SHIT!” i mean damn at least go outside your neighborhood to break and steal shit!
June 17th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Chilirey says:
“If I’m anywhere near downtown L.A., I’d rather be here, helping Richard Torres, owner of The Holy Grail shoe store on Pico and Flower, just southwest of Staples Center, put his business back together.
He had the great luck of having his store looted Sunday night during the celebration after the Lakers wrapped up the NBA title in Orlando.
Someone decided it was time for everyone to have access to free shoes. The mob followed.
The rest is unfathomable.
Torres told the Associated Press that about $140,000 worth of vintage shoes and apparel were stolen, as well as computers. He also noted that much of it was then burned.
“It would be different if we got burglarized, but they were literally lighting stuff on fire,” said Torres. “For this to happen, it leaves a sour taste.”
If you go over to Torres’ website (linked here), a window will pop up now that says: “Due to rioting, we are temporarily unable to process orders. Thank you for your understanding.”
No, thank you for not giving up and just closing your store for good.”
More follow up on this blog - good bad or indifferent about LA Fans…
June 17th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Sociology Graduate says:
Population density (not location or race) makes people do these things. It’s easier to do stupid, criminal things in masses. “Small town people” are not qualitatively better than “city people”. Whites are not better than Latinos, Latinos are not better than Blacks. Situational factors such as population density, poverty, and systematic oppression cause these events to occur. Educate yourself and stop making ignorant statements. GO LAKERS!
June 18th, 2009 at 1:36 am
We are the Champions (AGAIN!) says:
Shame! Shame! Smile, you’re on candid camera!
June 18th, 2009 at 3:06 am
johnnyboy says:
I see a lot of hispanics though. How come minorities cause more problems, here in Europe aswell.
July 15th, 2009 at 2:44 am
djfranchise says:
DJ Franchise here from Know The Ledge. I am hitting up every blogger or sneakerhead that has posted about The Holy Grail that we teamed up with them to get HG back on it feet.
We (Know The Ledge and Holy Grail) got the date and event nailed down to help Holy Grail build its shoes and customer base back. Stop by on July 19th!
Thank you for spreading the word.
More info here:
http://iknowtheledge.com/kicks-and-fashion/ktl-x-the-holy-grail-consignment-drive-party-719