Adidas Employees Reportedly Plan To Protest The Brand's Work Environment

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While a lot of companies has come out to support the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd, a lot of the statements they’re making via social media don’t exactly match their practices in real life.

One brand in particular, Adidas, quickly to responded to the current issues at hand, releasing a statement on its Instagram account along with a rare moment of solidarity with its longtime competitor Nike on Twitter.

Despite their stance in these messages for the public, some of the company’s employees are reportedly unhappy with the brand over what actually goes on behind the scenes.

According to reports from Footwear News, Adidas Originals Assistant Apparel Director Julia Bond sent a note to the brand’s North American leadership this week condemning the brand’s “consistent complacency” regarding the matters at hand.

“My existence at this brand is praised as diversity and inclusion, but when I look around, I see no one above or around that looks like me,” Bond reportedly wrote. “I can no longer stand for Adidas’ consistent complacency in taking active steps against a racist work environment. This is not business as usual.”

Bond went on to tell the publication that she chose not to issue her message anonymously in hopes of it having a greater impact across the company.

“Adidas has shown that there is a high tolerance for racism…How many times have I gone into HR about a racist incident—only to be met with responses about the inflictors intent versus their impact-thus negating my experience?” Bond’s note reportedly asks.

Because of this internal racism within the company, Bond says she and other co-workers are going to protest beginning tomorrow, with plans to continue each day until Adidas issues a formal apology “for the racism and discrimination that they have openly enabled and perpetuated.”

This same sentiment has been shared by many following the public outpouring of support for Black Lives Matter from companies over the past couple weeks. Putting out a statement that looks good, PR wise, is one thing, but actually creating a company that not only employs diverse candidates, but also gives them the proper environment to work in is a whole different story.