For those of you that doubt factory flaws happen (see my last post) – this is a ‘factory flaw’ I got directly IN STORE from @niketownsf . I paid full retail for this pair 5+ years ago. That means the person that attached the sole to this pair missed it, whoever checked the pair at the factory missed it, whoever received the pair after shipping from Asia missed it, the retailer missed it, and even the consumer (I) missed it (until my wife pointed it out). I have another pair of AM 97s I bought roughly 5 years ago with a similar issue I only just noticed…all that to say – these things happen and I believe they happen on a consistent and regular basis.