
Disabled People Stage Nike Ad Protest
ADAPT Members Say Apology Is Not Enough
BEAVERTON, Ore., Updated 11:05 a.m. PST October 30, 2000 -- Sometimes
an apology isn't enough.
That's according to members of a group called ADAPT
(American Disabled For Attendant Programs Today), who say that they want
more than just an apology by Nike. ADAPT
members say that Nike ran an insensitive ad in numerous magazines, produced by
local advertising firm Wieden + Kennedy, that was offensive to people in
wheelchairs.
Despite an apology from both Nike and Wieden + Kennedy, members of the local
ADAPT chapter are planning a protest at Nike headquarters in Beaverton Monday.
ADAPT member want Nike to print an apology in every magazine in which the ad
ran and they want the company to undergo sensitivity training.
"We don't want just a one or two paragraph statement," ADAPT
president Ric Burger told KOIN 6 News. "We want (Nike) to meet with us and
make sure that their marketing and advertising staffs understand what they have
done here and to work with us to present people with disabilities in a more
positive light.
Nike representative Lee Weinstein had earlier told KOIN that the company
"is sick" about the advertisement.
"Nike has a very long record of standing up for the rights of disabled
people," he said. "We took a stand for (disabled professional golfer)
Casey Martin. No other company took a stand for this guy."
Copyright 2000 by Channel
6000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.

|