Adidas Employees to Reportedly Protest Brand's 'Racist Work Environment'

Amidst protests across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd, Adidas was quick to respond, issuing a statement on its Instagram account as well as a rare stance of solidarity with competitor Nike on Twitter. Despite these public-facing messages, a number of Adidas employees are reportedly at odds with the brand over what some are calling an empty sentiment.According to 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."Footwear News spoke with Bond, who says 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\u2026How many times have I gone into HR about a racist incident\u2014only to be met with responses about the inflictors intent versus thei...