Adidas Withdrew Its Opposition to the BLM Logo

Adidas withdrew its opposition two days after declaring that the BLM logo is “inappropriate and incompatible with our values.”
In a letter to Nike, the Anti-Defamation League said it has been monitoring West’s comments and his support of groups like the white nationalist Antifa. The adolescent rapper, whose real name is Kanye West, has become the most prominent public figure in a generation who has explicitly endorsed anti-Semitic tropes and ideas.
West has repeatedly made antisemitic rants and has worn a shirt with the words “White Lives Matter” in public. That image caught on and it was the pressure that led Adidas to make a decision.
Adidas is a major player in the world of sports apparel and footwear, and its products are regularly worn by athletes and celebrities across the globe. It has a wide portfolio of high-profile sponsorships, including with football teams such as Liverpool and Manchester United.
But it does not have an excellent track record in respecting trade union rights and workers often endure poverty wages and harsh sweatshop-like conditions when making its products. Frequently, its suppliers operate in countries and free trade zones where factory workers face challenges in joining unions, leaving them without the protection of a collective structure.
While Adidas is a major player in the sporting world, the company has an incredibly dark history. The company’s founders, a German family known as the Dasslers, were affiliated with the Nazi party and provided sports footwear to the German Army during the 1930s.