Double Standard: Adidas Keeps Kanye, Snubs Colin Kaepernick?
Adidas Says Kanye’s Slavery Comments Are Just Fine; Colin Kaepernick’s Social Justice Protest? Not So Much
The global sports apparel giant Adidas showed its true stripes by choosing to stick with a controversial Black celebrity who doesn’t offend White people as it shuns a Black athlete who sparked outrage among Whites.
Adidas has no plans to drop its lucrative deal with Kanye West, Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted told Bloomberg News on Thursday. Rorsted was reacting to West’s outrageous comments questioning the circumstances surrounding slavery in America. His statement At the same time, the company has extended a disingenuous endorsement offer to Colin Kaepernick.
The rapper has been on a downward spiral since well before he aligned himself with President Donald Trump. , but this week’s comments seemingly hit an all time low for him.
“When you hear about slavery for 400 years — 400 years?” West asked incredulously during an interview with TMZ on Tuesday. “That sounds like a choice.”
“There clearly are some comments we don’t support,” Rorsted told Bloomberg News. Adidas said it planned to discuss them with the rapper, but nothing beyond that was mentioned.
Adidas has partnered with West since 2013, in what has been one of its most significant business relationships with a non-athlete. The artist has designed the top-shelf Yeezy models that Adidas only offers in limited runs.
Meanwhile, the company has said it would sign Kaepernick to an endorsement deal under one condition: that he gets named to an NFL roster, something that has been elusive for the free agent quarterback after his controversial kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before games.
Kaepernick stepped onto the national stage in 2016 when he began silently demonstrating against racial bias in the criminal justice system by kneeling. Conservatives and NFL ownership alike were outraged, calling Kaepernick and the mostly Black players who kneeled unpatriotic.
The former Super Bowl quarterback filed a grievance with the league that accused team owners of colluding to keep him unsigned. Adidas all but knew it was a safe bet that Kaepernick won’t play this upcoming season. Las Vegas odds makers predicted in 2017 that Kaepernick was a long shot to get a contract with an NFL team. And the odds are even greater that the 30-year-old won’t play in the NFL again.
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Adidas Says Kanye’s Slavery Comments Are Just Fine; Colin Kaepernick’s Social Justice Protest? Not So Much was originally published on newsone.com
