Nike founder Phil Knight's huge political donation ahead of the midterms
In early September, Nike released a moving ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback whom Donald Trump once indirectly called a “son of a bitch” for his political activism in support of black Americans.
Kaepernick was the symbolic head of the movement to “take a knee” during the US national anthem at televised games, a protest meant to bring attention to police killings of unarmed black men. When, as a free agent in 2017, Kaepernick was not signed on to a team, many believed his activism had ended his career. “Believe in something,” Nike’s ad tells viewers, as Kaepernick appears on screen near the end of the spot, “even if it costs you everything.”
As Quartz has reported, Nike’s ad raised questions about the sincerity of the company’s ostensibly progressive values. Though Kaepernick had become a symbol of resistance to Trump’s toxic politics, the company also donated to the Republican party. Now, in the lead-up to the midterm elections, the mystery around Nike’s political leanings has deepened. Nike founder Phil Knight, who remains chair emeritus of the company, has donated a total of $2.5 million to Knute Buehler, Republican gubernatorial candidate in Oregon. That amount far exceeds any other individual donation to political candidates in the state.
Knight, who is thought to be worth about $30 billion and is famously private, hasn’t explained what’s behind this exceedingly generous gift to the Republican candidate. Buehler’s campaign team has also declined to comment on the donations. (Quartz has contacted both offices and will update this post with any response we receive.)
Oregon governor Kate Brown, the Democrat incumbent running opposite Buehler, has a theory, however. Through a spokesperson, her office has proposed that Knight is “clearly accustomed to buying whatever he wants” and that “a lot of Oregonians are wondering if this is an attempt to buy a governor.”
https://qz.com/1450200/nikes-founder-has-become-a-mega-donor-to-a-republican-candidate/
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