Over the last three years, Nike has had its #BeTrue line of products designed to celebrate Pride Month. The line has featured shoes and shirts covered in rainbow with the Nike swoosh and #BeTrue. Each year Nike has expanded the line and its reach, this year taking their presence on the road to Pride events across the country.
This year two other sports-apparel lines have gotten in on the act, as Adidas and Converse released rainbow-inspired shoes to celebrate Pride. Nike has been waiting for others to enter the space, and now there's a race to capture the "pink dollars" in the sports-apparel world.
Shane Windmyer, founder of Campus Pride, has been working in the LGBT space for a long time and marveled at the sports-apparel corporations embracing the community, but he wants to see more action and commitment to equality, not just fancy shoes.
"The race is on for the LGBTQ rainbow dollar. What matters to young people though is who supports equality and who is making a difference now. That is the true test of a corporation's efforts for LGBTQ people. Actions always speak louder than words. We hope to see this race lead to more financial support for the organizations 'doing the work' to make the sports world a safer, more inclusive place."
For the last three years, Nike has donated proceeds from its #BeTrue line to the LGBT Sports Coalition, a collaboration of about 40 organizations and individuals designed to end anti-LGBT bias in sports. In two years Nike has donated $300k in cash to the Coalition, which has been used by groups like GO! Athletes and the National Center for Lesbian Rights to create projects that improve the sports environment for LGBT people.
It will be interesting to see if the other lines try to match or beat Nike's deeper commitment to the community.
You can purchase Nike's #BeTrue line here.
