Following Kanye West’s antisemitic rampage, Adidas ended its relationship with the rapper and teamed up with the Anti-Defamation League to fight antisemitism in sports.
A few weeks after Kanye West’s public attack on Jews, his sponsor, Adidas, ended its relationship with the rapper, satisfying the Anti-Defamation League’s demand, whose CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, said he was alarmed by the company’s ties to West.
Three weeks later, Greenblatt attended the ADL’s “Never is Now” conference in Adidas sneakers. After severing its ties to the rapper, Adidas teamed up with ADL, making a major donation to the anti-hate group, in order to work side by side to fight antisemitism among students and professional athletes.
“We don’t always get things right. We are not perfect,” Rupert Campbell, the president of Adidas North America, said at the conference. “But in this case, we know without a doubt we made the right decision. We know that, without a doubt, the racist and antisemitic hate speech by our former partner violated our values. We took action to begin dismantling the partnership. This took time, given the complexity of the partnership. But we remain committed to living our values.”
The new program includes the creation of an anti-bigotry curriculum to be disseminated among student-athletes, reports the Jerusalem Post. Moreover, within the program, Adidas will focus on enlisting professional athletes in the fight against antisemitism.
“While I wish they did it sooner, Adidas — to their credit — made it abundantly clear that they would not do business with bigots,” Greenblatt said. “And today, I am so pleased that they are here at Never Is Now to announce an incredible commitment that demonstrates that their dedication to fighting antisemitism will last long beyond this moment.”
Photo credit: eJP / EFREN LANDAOS/SIPA USA)(SIPA VIA AP IMAGES
More News
