Nike Facing Calls to Sever Ties With President Trump
Nike is facing renewed calls and a petition from Courage Campaign to sever ties with President Trump once and for all, following Donald Trump’s refusal to convincingly disavow white supremacy in the wake of the Charlottesville, Virginia, riots. Nike currently leases a $200m space in Trump Tower for their flagship store, NikeTown.
More than 72,000 people have signed the petition calling on Nike to cut off all ties with Trump. Though Nike says “diversity and inclusion are key levers” in their business model and image, Courage Campaign argues Trump’s actions and values are inconsistent with the company’s brand. This inconsistency is especially glaring in the case of Manny Pacquiao, whom Nike dropped in 2016 after the boxer made homophobic remarks.
Courage Campaign, a non-profit, grassroots advocacy organization based in California, initially asked Nike to break from Trump after numerous sexual assault allegations surfaced. In particular, a 2005 Access Hollywood clip of Trump bragging about assaulting women drew sharp criticism.
“When Courage Campaign called on the company to disassociate itself from Donald Trump’s racist, misogynistic, and bigoted brand last year, Nike refused. That was already too far,” said Eddie Kurtz, executive director of the Courage Campaign. “Now, the world is watching as our president rushes to the defense of white supremacists in Charlottesville. It is time for Nike to choose which side of history they will stand on and end their financial support for Trump and his companies. Anything less means that Nike is complicit in supporting Trump’s insidious and racist agenda.”
In response to last year’s petitioning, Nike signed a new lease with a non-Trump building, but they never commented publicly on what they would do with their flagship store space.
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