1:40
- ABC News
- December 22, 2018
Why the sneaker game is becoming more political
Legendary Olympian and civil rights activist Tommie Smith reflects on the shift.
1:40
\"Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts. I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way? As far as the NFL is concerned, I just find it hard to watch, and always will, until they stand for the FLAG!\" Trump tweeted in September.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/colin-kaepernick-protest-gty-jc-180904_hpEmbed_4_3x2_384.jpg\")
But on Friday, Nike stock rose and the company exceeded expectations for second-quarter sales, the period during which it released the Kaepernick ad.
Understanding the culture
Political activism in the corporate world is not only happening on the left. Chick-fil-a, the fast food chain that supports Christian groups and closes on Sundays, continues to open new locations. Sales continues to surge, too, even after some backlash from progressives over reports that the company, according to HuffPo, donated nearly $2 million to groups that oppose same-sex marriage.
And gun companies have been actively lobbying against more stringent gun control measures.
This past year, Racked reported that Dick's Sporting Goods faced some backlash from gun retailers who vowed to stop doing business with the company after it announced it would no longer sell assault rifles.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Business/dicks-2-gty-er-180227_hpEmbed_2_3x2_384.jpg\")
But Whitney Wagoner, the director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, says the political statements that companies are taking are a reflection of where their target consumer group generally stands.
While “there’s no doubt” that some political statements can “alienate some segments,” leading sportswear retailers “are playing the long game and investing in younger consumers -- teens and college-age people who will be consumers for the next 50 years,\" Wagoner said.
And this new generation, she added, is much more comfortable with the blurring of the lines.
“In the old days when I was a kid you were one thing or another thing. That’s not the world anymore and that’s not how young people see the world,” Wagoner said. “So, this thing about ‘shut up and dribble’ or ‘stay in your lane,’ that is an old construct where we defined people in a pretty binary way and that’s just not how young people see the world.”
The \"shut up and dribble\" comment is a reference to when Fox News host Laura Ingraham said on her program that NBA superstar LeBron James should do just that instead of involving himself in politics. James also used the phrase as a title of a three-part documentary on Showtime that explores the changing role of black athletes in society.
Lord, meanwhile, says sportswear retailers, who are at the center of this convergence of music, art, politics, fashion and culture, have long recognized that sneaker culture is about more than just the shoes.
“Everything is sneakers because sneakers are the hub of living your dream, the hub of creative dreams and in 2018-2019 everybody wants to be a creative,” she said.
This is evident in the countless collaborations between sportswear retailers, athletes, hip-hop artists and musicians over the years, including PUMA’s collaborations with Rihanna, Jay Z and Meek Mill, Adidas’ partnership with Kanye West on Yeezy, and Nike’s dealings with James, Kevin Durant, Travis Scott, Drake, music producer and designer Virgil Abloh -- just to name a few recent examples.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Sports/rihanna-puma-event-file-gty-jef-181221_hpEmbed_11x8_384.jpg\")
“As the culture gets more politicized, as the culture gets more charged, I think we have an obligation to reflect that,” Petrick said. “We want to engage in the same things that are interesting to our consumer because frankly, it’s not just good business but a net positive for the world.”
ABC News' Soo Youn contributed to this report.
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