This is the second pair I have sent back because there was extra material on the inside of the tongue of the left foot and it was sticking together and painful on the top of the foot . I've been wearing the New Balance 577 Black for over 10 years now. Last year the quality was very bad. In total I returned 4 pairs due to the same problem. I had this problem about 14 months ago. New Balance has a lot of new manufacturers or something. I'll think about looking for other shoes. I doubt it will be New Balance. Will have to see. Very disappointed lately. i love shoes I wear them all day every day. I need to change the number of stars I gave it. sorry for the confusion