Americans are willing to kill each other for shoes. And while each fatal incident may seem like a freak occurrence, sneaker-motivated deaths can mount over time.

An estimated 1,200 people die over sneakers every year, according to a video posted Nov. 14 by GQ magazine. Excerpted from a recent documentary on sneaker culture called Sneakerheadz, the video suggests one factor in the violence is the marketing hype machine that transforms sneaker releases into consumer feeding frenzies.

“It didn’t surprise me that kids would become violent and really ferocious about these shoes, because the way [companies] market them, they market them as if they’re the dream,” Mike Epps, the actor and avid sneaker collector, says in the video.

In particular, critics have accused basketball legend Michael Jordan and manufacturer Nike, which owns the Jordan brand, of encouraging frenzied behavior over their shoes. The most sought-after Jordans are expensive and released in limited quantities, making them highly sought-after and valuable. In October, former NBA star Stephon Marbury singled out Jordan in association with ”kids dying over shoes,” when he announced the return of his own $15 Starbury sneakers to market.

Jordan has been robbing the hood since. Kids dying for shoes and the only face this dude makes is I don't care. The time will change!

— I AM PEACE STAR (@StarburyMarbury) October 5, 2015

There are deeper societal issues of violence and status involved. Looking back at Sports Illustrated’s famous 1990 cover story, “Your Sneakers or Your Life,” which focused on the murder of a 15-year-old boy over his Jordans and brought sneaker violence to national attention, it’s evident that the 17-year-old killer in that case didn’t do it just for the shoes. The victims of these crimes are disproportionately young, black men.

Undoubtedly, however, sneakers continue to create opportunities for some problems to play out. Early on, the Sneakerheadz clip shows news footage from a mob scene of customers stampeding to get newly released Jordans, and stories of actual deaths are far from rare.

What can be done about it? Twenty-five years after Sports Illustrated’s big story, there’s still no good answer.