Caitlyn Jenner slams Nike for using trans woman to promote sports line

Caitlyn Jenner has slammed Nike for its partnership with trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney after the star posted that she was the company's newest paid brand ambassador for its women's line of leggings and sports bras, according to a tweet by Jenner. This comes just seven years after Jenner herself landed a H&M sportswear endorsement. 

Jenner, who was recently named a Fox News contributor, took to Twitter to call the partnership between Nike and Mulvaney "an outrage".

“As someone that grew up in awe of what Phil Knight did, it is a shame to see such an iconic American company go so woke!” she tweeted. “We can be inclusive but not at the expense of the mass majority of people and have some decency while being inclusive. This is an outrage.”

The New York Post (NYP) then posted an article in which it noted that it was unclear why the partnership was harmful according to Jenner.

Jenner responded directly to NYP on Twitter by saying that that there was a double standard on the difference in the treatment of Allyson Felix by Nike and Mulvaney now. Felix is a retired American track and field athlete who split from the brand reportedly because she was disrespected by the brand and discriminated against because she was pregnant. Nike allegedly asked Felix in 2018 to take a 70% pay cut recently when the star announced she was pregnant.

Jenner noted that the New York Post "entirely misrepresented" her tweet and the "context" of her outrage. Jenner added that there is "nothing hypocritical" about her H&M collaboration though she did not elaborate besides adding that she has a long history of athletic endorsements. 

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Saying that, Jenner seems to have changed her tone from 2016 when she was given the H&M collaboration. At the time, she told fashion publication InStyle that sportswear and sports is a great way to "bring out a message" and to "create understanding." Jenner added that the world has a "long way to go" when it comes to transgender acceptance.

Jenner noted that trans issues were "swept under the rug" for many years and that kids have a "difficult time" dealing with this when they are younger which contributes to "big suicide rates." She added that she hoped with the campaign that they would show people that it is okay to talk about transgender issues. 

It is unclear why Jenner has had a change of heart since. Jenner though added in a tweet that she does not blame Mulvaney and that it was a smart financial move. Rather, she is simply unhappy because she "did not like how Nike treated Felix when she became pregnant."

Jumping on the conversation, celebrities such as former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies have also called for a boycott of Nike over their partnership with Mulvaney. On UK news channel GB News, Davis said that Nike's partnership with Mulvaney feels like “a kick in the teeth” and a "parody of what women are", according to NYP. She added that in the past, it was offensive to say that someone "ran like a girl" and that Mulvaney was behaving in an "un-sportslike" and "unathletic" way. She continued by saying that it is "frustrating" to see Mulvaney fronting the campaign as she has not been through the challenges women face when it comes to finding sports bras that fit well.

This is not the first time that a sports brand has been questioned on its collaborations with personalities. recently, Adidas launched an investigation into Kanye West's reportedly inappropriate behaviour while both parties were working together to develop the Yeezy sneaker line. The sports brand reportedly received an anonymous letter alleging "years of misconduct in the workplace" by West, who now goes by Ye. The letter also alleged that adidas management "turned a blind eye" to Ye's behaviour, The Wall Street Journal said in a post last year. 

This came shortly after adidas put its partnership with Ye under review in early October last year even after repeated efforts to privately resolve the issue. Ye had reportedly watched porn in meetings and during office hours and also showed it to employees, WSJ said.

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