A new petition is calling on Nike to “reject Donald Trump’s sexism, racism and xenophobia” by choosing not to renew the lease for its Niketown New York flagship store in Trump Tower on 57th Street.
The petition, which launched in March, is posted on the Courage Campaign website and explains that the space Nike leases is valued at $200 million and will expire in 2017.
“Earlier this year, Nike immediately dropped [boxer] Manny Pacquiao for his abhorrent remarks on same-sex couples,” said Laura Leavitt, campaign manager for the Courage Campaign. “It cut ties with [tennis player] Maria Sharapova right away after she announced that she failed a drug test. But when Trump mocks a disabled reporter, makes sexist, racist and xenophobic comments, and encourages violence at political events — Nike does nothing.”
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The petition also cites Macy’s, which cut ties with Trump last year after he called Mexican immigrants “rapists” and made derogatory remarks about women.
In a statement released at the time, Macy’s said, “In light of statements made by Donald Trump, which are inconsistent with Macy’s values, we have decided to discontinue our business relationship with Mr. Trump and will phase-out the Trump menswear collection, which has been sold at Macy’s since 2004.”
In addition to Nike, Gucci also has its New York flagship at Trump Tower. In June 2015, Trump told the Des Moines Register that the Gucci store was worth more than former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
A statement from the Courage Campaign says that 34,000 people have signed the petition since it launched.
Last week, Nike was targeted in a petition from women’s advocacy group UltraViolet, asking the brand to not support the 2017 NBA All-Star Game if it’s held in North Carolina due to controversy surrounding the state’s House Bill 2, which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Nike has been one of the event’s main sponsors for several years.
Nike sent this statement to Footwear News regarding the petition: “Nike strongly supports equality and inclusion for all. We oppose laws that facilitate discrimination as they hurt our employees, our customers, our business and society as a whole. We stand with other businesses and organizations against discriminatory laws across the country.”
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