Former South African olympian Oscar Pistorius was in a controversial video advertisement for Nike long before he allegedly shot and killed model Reeva Steenkamp. The commercial calls each athlete involved "a bullet in the chamber" and has other visual and auditory cues that suggest the athletes are part of a violent game. The olympian and paralympian's website pulled the ad off, though it can still be seen online.
Pistorius is first seen at the :38 mark of the minute-long commercial, running at night. Fellow runners and other athletes are seen in low lighting as well to play up the little that can be seen on the screen. You can hear more about the commercial here.
You can see a history of Oscar's tweets here, which suggest he was intent on spreading positive messages to his followers, quoting Walt Disney and other uplifting figures.
The New York Times reported that Pistorius was emotional in court, breaking down when planning details of his hearing. He will remain in custody until February 19 when his case resumes. He allegedly shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp when he thought she was an intruder in his house on Thursday. Neighbors didn't seem to think that was the case, as they heard screaming and yelling earlier in the night. Pistorius enjoys shooting guns, and even took a picture of himself at the firing range in the past. Sources close to the family say the relationship was strong, albeit a short one. It is not uncommon for poeple in Pistorius' area of South Africa to have weapons at home, since it is a region with a high violent crime rate.
We first reported details of Steenkamp's death and Pistorius' alleged involvement here.
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