Nike cuts ties with Australian brand ambassador over pro-Palestinian posts
LONDON: Nike has ended its partnership with Australian brand ambassador Grace Tame after the activist shared several pro-Palestinian posts on social media.
Tame, a long-distance runner and high-profile advocate for survivors of sexual assault, had used her platform in recent months to speak out against Israel's military campaign in Gaza, describing it as 'genocide' and calling for a ceasefire.
The American sportswear giant confirmed the decision over the weekend, following growing speculation after it launched a review of Tame's public statements.
A Nike spokesperson said on Friday: 'We've agreed to part ways. We wish Grace the best as she continues her running journey.'
Tame signed a $100,000 ambassadorial deal with Nike in January, marking a return to the brand after a previous collaboration four years ago.
Since the start of the conflict in Gaza in October 2023, Tame has shared posts and attended events expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
In November, she signed a global ceasefire petition organized by Oxfam. In May, she gave a speech at an event hosted by the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network, where she said: 'Empathy should have no boundaries.'
Tame also revealed she had been asked not to speak about the war at other public engagements.
Her increasingly vocal advocacy drew criticism from pro-Israel commentators in Australia, some of whom accused her of sharing inflammatory and antisemitic content.
In May, Tame reposted a statement from Palestinian writer Mohammed El-Kurd criticizing Western media coverage of the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy aides in Washington.
She quoted the post, which argued the incident was a direct response to Israel's assault on Gaza, rather than a random antisemitic attack.
'Even though it was undeniably, and by the alleged shooter's own admission, a response to the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza, which killed one hundred and seven Palestinians in the last 24 hours alone,' she reposted to her 260,000 followers.
Tame, no stranger to controversy, has long been a divisive figure in Australian public life.
Earlier this year, she appeared at a public event with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wearing a T-shirt that read 'F**k Murdoch,' a jab at media mogul Rupert Murdoch. In the accompanying Instagram caption, she criticized what she called 'dynastically wealthy white supremacist corporate oligarchs ruining our planet, funding genocide, war, and destruction.'
In response, Murdoch-owned The Australian accused her of being fixated on Israel and wrote that Nike's 'face-saving statement of a mutual separation with Tame is arguably misplaced in its generosity.'
The newspaper also noted that all Nike stores in Australia are operated by Fox Group, an Israeli company listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, adding another layer to the fallout.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
20 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Gaza humanitarian blockade a ‘scandal', shameful: Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday the humanitarian blockade of Gaza was a 'scandal' and 'shameful,' calling for the reopening of humanitarian supply routes. Macron also called for a truce in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
NATO chief calls for ‘quantum leap' in defense and says Russia could attack in 5 years
LONDON: NATO members need to increase their air and missile defenses by 400 percent to counter the threat from Russia, the head of the military alliance said Monday, warning that Moscow could be ready to attack it within five Mark Rutte said during a visit to London that he expects the 32 NATO members to agree to a big hike in military spending at a summit in the Netherlands this at the Chatham House think tank, Rutte said Russia is outpacing the far bigger NATO in producing ammunition, and the alliance must take a 'quantum leap' in collective defense.'Wishful thinking will not keep us safe,' Rutte said. 'We cannot dream away the danger. Hope is not a strategy. So NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance.'Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5 percent of economic output on military spending and another 1.5 percent on 'defense-related expenditure' such as roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports. He said he is confident the alliance will agree to the target at its summit in The Hague on June the moment, 22 of the 32 members meet or exceed NATO's current 2 percent target, which was set in 2014. Rutte said he expects all to reach 2 percent by the end of this new target would meet a demand by US President Donald Trump that member states spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Trump has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the US provides security to European countries that don't contribute said he agreed that 'America has carried too much of the burden for too long.'Rutte said NATO needs thousands more armored vehicles and millions more artillery shells, as well as a 400 percent increase in air and missile defense.'We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,' he said.'Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years,' Rutte added. 'We are all on the eastern flank now.'Rutte also held talks Monday with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and praised the UK's commitment to increase defense spending as 'very good stuff.' Starmer has pledged to boost military spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2027 and to 3 percent by other NATO members, the UK has been reassessing its defense spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February NATO members, led by the UK and France, have scrambled to coordinate their defense posture as Trump transforms American foreign policy, seemingly sidelining Europe as he looks to end the war in week the UK government said it would build new nuclear-powered attack submarines, prepare its army to fight a war in Europe and become 'a battle-ready, armor-clad nation.' The plans represent the most sweeping changes to British defenses since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Ultra-Orthodox Party Threatens Government over Draft Law
Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party on Monday threatened to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government by backing a motion for early elections amid a row over military service. Netanyahu's coalition, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, is at risk of collapsing over a bill that could reverse the long-standing exemption from the draft for ultra-Orthodox Jews. The exemption is facing growing pushback as Israel wages war on the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu is under pressure from within his Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men and impose penalties on draft dodgers -- a red line for Shas. The party is demanding legislation to permanently exempt its followers from military service and gave Netanyahu two days to find a solution. "We don't want to bring down a right-wing government, but we've reached our limit," Shas spokesperson Asher Medina told public radio. "If there's no last-minute solution (on conscription), we'll vote to dissolve the Knesset," he said, referring to the Israeli parliament. Last week, a Shas source told AFP the party was threatening to quit the coalition unless a solution was reached by Monday. The opposition is seeking to place a bill to dissolve parliament on Wednesday's plenary agenda, hoping to capitalize on the ultra-Orthodox revolt to topple the government. Netanyahu's coalition, formed in December 2022, includes Likud, far-right factions and ultra-Orthodox parties. A walkout by the latter would end its majority. A poll published in March by right-wing daily Israel Hayom found 85 percent of Israeli Jews support changing the conscription law for Haredim. Forty-one percent backed compulsory military service -- currently 32 months for men -- for all eligible members of the community.
