TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Nike stores closed in South Africa amid outcry over racist web post

Ed Stoddard (Reuters)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Thu, August 23, 2018

Share This Article

Change Size

Nike stores closed in South Africa amid outcry over racist web post The Nike 'swoosh' logo is displayed on the outside of the Nike SoHo store, June 15, 2017 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP /Drew Angerer)

S

ome Nike stores were closed in South Africa on Wednesday after public outcry over a racist comment by a man that local media said had links to the sportswear company.

Nike declined to comment on the store closures, but issued a statement reiterating its “long-standing commitment to diversity, inclusion and respect”, adding that the man seen in a video posted online was not a company employee.

In the video, taken at a beach resort, a white man with a South African accent says: “And not one kaffir in sight. Fucking heaven on earth.”

The “K word” as it is known in South Africa is apartheid-era slang for a black person and is regarded as a deeply offensive slur on a par with the “N word” in America.

Times Live online news service said the man in the video was married to a merchandising director at Nike. A Nike spokeswoman in London declined to comment and Reuters was unable to independently verify the person’s identity.

Read also: Moving to Hawaii can make you less racist: Study

South African media reported Nike stores had closed their doors. Reuters witnesses confirmed that two were shut at a mall in the Sandton district of Johannesburg.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a party known for its hard-left and African nationalist positions, said it would file a criminal complaint against the man in the video.

In January, protesters led by the EFF trashed six H&M stores over an ad by the retail chain which featured a black child modeling a sweatshirt with the slogan “coolest monkey in the jungle.”

South Africa remains deeply scarred by its apartheid and colonial past, with the racial reconciliation embraced by the late president Nelson Mandela frequently marred by racist incidents.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.