Sports stars who speak out about justice issues have a responsibility to work with companies that live up to their rhetoric.
Charlotte is abuzz with news of the city’s bid to acquire a major league soccer team. The owner of the football team is behind acquiring a soccer team.
This past weekend, Charlotte hosted an International Champions Cup soccer game at Bank of America Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. World Cup star, Megan Rapinoe, made an appearance too. A fan favorite, she added much to the event, demonstrating soccer moves and shining all the way–just as she did in the World Cup.
Courtesy: Charlotte Observer
Her white tee shirt with rolled sleeves carried the Nike swoosh, a corporate symbol known over the world for its sports products. Rapinoe not only spoke of soccer and the second World Championship, but she also expressed views about President Trump and his recent rally in Greenville, NC.
She used the public platform, as many famous people do, to criticize the chant, “Send her back.” She also called for justice and peace, just as she did after the parade in New York City. She did all of this while wearing the tee shirt with the Nike logo.
Some fans attending that day may not know this: Nike has spent a considerable amount of money trying to clear its connection with sweatshops located in Southeast Asia. It formed The Nike Community Impact Fund and girl empowerment programs to combat the anger of consumers over those sweatshops.
But there’s a hitch. As Maria Hengeveld reported in Plough, “The irony of the Nike Foundation’s empowerment philanthropy is that true empowerment is exactly what Nike refuses to get behind in its own operations. Its foundation’s work is not a generous investment in women’s rights, but a smart business investment to restore the company’s image.”
Nike sweatshops ‘never went away’ (source: Plough Publishing House)
A simple internet search shows that there are plenty of opinions about Nike and the depth of its commitment to paying workers a living wage and creating safe workplaces. Nike isn’t alone in facing those challenges. Other U.S. companies searching for cheap labor face the same circumstances.
Is Rapinoe unaware that Nike has a long way to go before it can honestly boast about ‘girl’s empowerment’? If not–or if she chooses to look the other way–then she’s no better than others in American public life who make (as Nike does) a ‘smart business decision.”
I know Rapinoe is riding a wave of popularity. But if she’s serious about justice, then she needs to do a better job of aligning rhetoric with behavior. Otherwise, the disconnect will catch up with her.
