Nike Faces Federal Probe Over Alleged Discrimination Against White Employees

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has opened an investigation into Nike, alleging the sportswear giant discriminated against white employees, including through its diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.

In court documents, the agency said it has asked Nike to turn over information on how the company selected employees for layoffs, how it tracks and uses race and ethnicity data and details on 16 programmes that allegedly offered race-restricted mentoring, leadership and career development opportunities. The EEOC said it has received complaints about the brand dating back to 2018.

In a statement, Nike said the EEOC’s move was “a surprising and unusual escalation,” noting it had already engaged with the inquiry “in good faith” and provided “thousands of pages of information.” The brand, which described itself as “a proud American company,” said it remains “committed to fair and lawful employment practices” and believes its programmes “are consistent with those obligations.”

Well before his 2024 re-election, President Trump was a vocal critic of corporate DEI programmes, vowing to “end the tyranny” of such initiatives once back in office. A wave of executive orders in early 2025 accelerated a retreat already underway at many companies, prompting dozens to dismantle or further downplay their diversity efforts.

Nike has also arguably stepped back in recent years, opting not to publish a 2025 impact report and scaling back high-profile initiatives such as Black History Month and Pride collections. Even so, the brand has long been viewed as one of the more progressive players in fashion, particularly for its visible championing of diverse athletes.

In its filing, the EEOC invoked Title VII’s prohibition on race-based employment discrimination — a statute historically used to protect workers of colour and other marginalised groups from exclusion. The agency’s argument effectively turns that framework on its head, asserting that Nike’s DEI policies may have disadvantaged white employees.

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