“Law Enforcement Appreciation Day” irks customers.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Nike’s “Law Enforcement Appreciation Day” earlier this week irked customers who have been involved in protests against police brutality for months.
#LawEnforcementAppreciationDay via @Nike & @Converse. Today. The police have killed 420 people in 2015. America. pic.twitter.com/y2ZnXNIZNZ
— deray mckesson (@deray) May 13, 2015
@deray Marketing is never values-neutral. Any good company knows that. Nike surely does.
— Deborah Roseman (@roseperson) May 14, 2015
On Thursday, the company issued a statement, tracing the promotion back to September 11.
Nike has held discount days in its stores for first responders, including law enforcement and the military, since 9/11. Nike has no intention to offend anyone, nor to imply that we are insensitive to the serious and important issues between law enforcement and black communities in America. We care about and support efforts to continue discussions to create positive change and bring equality for everyone in our society.
Many have called for boycotts of the company, which has been accused of playing the fence on a hot-button issue in the nation.
According to OregonLive.com, one user has launched an anti-Nike campaign under the “#DontDoIt” hashtag.
