Nike Statement:
We have heard from a number of people who took
offense to a paragraph within an ad running in the United States for the Nike
ACG Air Dri-Goat trail running shoe currently running in several outdoor
magazines.
We offer a sincere apology to those people, their family and friends.
Clearly, disabilities of any form are no laughing matter and that paragraph
should not have been included in the ad. We are immediately pulling this
offensive ad from future publication.
The intent of the print ad for the Air Dri-Goat trail running shoe was to
communicate the benefits of using the right equipment to prevent injuries. We
certainly did not mean to offend, or make light of any form of disability.
Nike has a long and proud history of supporting the athletic goals of people of
all levels of ability. We firmly believe in the philosophy of our late
co-founder, legendary track coach Bill Bowerman, who said, "If you have a
body, you are an athlete." Nike has a strong record on employing people
with different abilities, and has included athletes as diverse as Craig
Blanchette, Casey Martin, Ric Munoz and others in its advertising. Nike also
outfitted the 2000 Australian Paralympic Team. A former Nike president, Bob
Woodell, suffered a spinal cord injury and uses a wheelchair, and we have a
Disabled Employee Network.
For more information about Nike and our dedication to corporate responsibility
we invite people to check out our web site at nikebiz.com.