Nike Backs Vinicius Jr & Urges Football To ‘Stop Looking The Other Way’

After the racist chanting and insults aimed at Vinicius Junior in the Mestalla Stadium during Real Madrid’s 21 May game against Valencia CF, several brands with links to the sport ion Spain came out in support of the player led by the Brazilian attacker’s boot partner Nike.

 

The player issued a personal statement on his Twitter account after the game which denounced the situation in the game, La Liga and in Spain stating: “It was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga.”

 

Não foi a primeira vez, nem a segunda e nem a terceira. O racismo é o normal na La Liga. A competição acha normal, a Federação também e os adversários incentivam. Lamento muito. O campeonato que já foi de Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano e Messi hoje é dos racistas. Uma nação…

— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) May 21, 2023

 

Nike, the 22-year-old forward’s apparel partner, publicly supported its endorser’s stance across its social networks by publishing an image of Vinicius alongside with the copy line ‘Stop looking the other way’.

 

We stand with @vinijr. pic.twitter.com/vbgVkwK7Us

— Nike (@Nike) May 23, 2023

 

Indeed, the US-based sportswear behemoth also announced its plan to work with the player to anchor a fresh anti-racism campaign which is expected to start rolling out in the coming days in Spain with a local focus in Madrid and Valencia.

 

Other brand’s in the football space, including fellow sportswear companies Adidas (a Real Madrid main sponsor) and Puma (Valencia’s kit partner), as well as La Liga sponsor Banco Santander also socially showed their support for the Real Madrid player.

 

Puma condemned the racist attacks on the player in a statement stating: “At Puma, we do not tolerate racism, we condemn discrimination in any form and we stand in solidarity with Vinicius Junior and the community,”, Adidas said that the situation is “unacceptable” and Santander said they “categorically reject any sign of racism and discrimination”.

 

 

Comment

 

This ongoing scourge in Spanish football and across far too many football communities and show the sport and society needs to re-energise its actions and commitment to eliminate racism from the game. This is not just about club or league brand value, but about what kind of society we want to live in.

 

Of course, this isn’t the first, or even the second time that Nike has launched a major anti-racism campaign. The most famous of its previous initiatives was its 2018 ‘Dream Crazy: Believe In Something, Even If It Means Sacrificing Everything’ campaign with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Other included the follow-up ‘Dream Crazier’, ‘Dream With Us’, ‘For Once Don’t Do It’ and ‘Inspire Change’.