Nike gay
Manny Pacquiao's latest disparaging comments about gays have price him a contract with Nike.
It may not be the only endorsement Pacquiao loses, even as he and promoter Bob Arum scramble to contain the damage done by a television interview in the Philippines in which the boxer said gay people "are worse than animals."
"What he's saying is diametrically opposed to what I believe," said Arum, who is promoting Pacquiao's upcoming fight with Timothy Bradley. "I'm in favor of gay rights and identical sex marriage. I'm apologetic personally to the male lover movement in the Together States."
Nike issued a short statement Wednesday saying it was severing its ties with the boxer over his comments about gays. The company said it no longer will own any business dealings with the boxer.
"We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent," the statement said. "Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community."
Pacquiao, a congressman who is now running for Senate in the Philippines, made the comments to a television station that was asking candidates about their views on same sex marriage.
"It's just common sense," P
Nike debuts its new line of clothing today, #BeTrue, the slogan for its collection inspired by LGBT athletes. It's available in Nike stores throughout the land, but the story of how this line came to be started adv before the names Jason Collins or Michael Sam made headlines.
"The LGBT sports movement wasn't really acting as a movement," says
, co-founder of OutSports. So three years ago, Nike, he and other activists got together to host the LGBT Sports Summit.
"We brought all of the top players to Portland during gay celebration month to talk about how we can change into a movement."
A coalition was formed that has met every year since, and Nike helped fund it through the sales of the #BeTrue line. But even then, the line was only available in just three stores throughout the country.
"They didn't comprehend what the reaction was going to be," says Ziegler. "They were terrified of alienating their customer base."
That was in 2012, and the #BeTrue products were popular where they were sold. But this year, with LGBT pro athletes finding general acceptance among the public, Ziegler says Nike is doing what it can to spread the product even further.
"This year, they're diving in head f
WNBA Power Couple Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley Team With Nike on Shoes for Pride
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WNBA stars, wives and new moms Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley possess collaborated with Nike on Pride-inspired versions of their most-coveted sneaker styles. Vandersloot picked the cult-classic Wind Max 1 and the Sabrina 2, while Quigley reimagined the P-6000 and the Sabrina 2, too.
Part of the Nike By You program, which gives customers access to shoes designed by their favorite athletes (along with the ability to build their own), the limited-edition inventory is available to shop exclusively at nike.com. A free-to-join Nike membership is required for purchase.
Quigley’s custom P-6000 shoes ($145) take a more understated approach to traditional Pride colors, while still making their trail with a combination of iridescent and metallic accents. The silhouette is a mash-up of past Pegasus styles, leaning into the early 2000s running aesthetic.
The first of Vandersloot’s two designs, the Nike Air Max 1 for Pride
EXCLUSIVE: NIKE President and CEO Condemns Indiana’s Fresh Anti-LGBT Law
by Ianthe Metzger •
WASHINGTON – As major corporations, business leaders, and organizations sustain to speak out against the discriminatory new anti-LGBT law in Indiana, NIKE, Inc. President and CEO Mark Parker provided the following statement to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest queer woman , gay, bisexual, and gender diverse (LGBT) civil rights organization:
"NIKE proudly stands for inclusion for all. We trust laws should treat people equally and prevent discrimination. NIKE has led efforts alongside other businesses to defeat discriminatory laws in Oregon and opposes the new law in Indiana which is terrible for our employees, terrible for our consumers, unpleasant for business and horrible for society as a whole. We hope Indiana will quickly resolve this."
NIKE is one of the world's largest athletic apparel companies and a longtime supporter of HRC. NIKE contributed to the campaign for marriage equality in Oregon and was among the first to establish non-discrimination protections for LGBT employees. NIKE received a perfect 100% score on H
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