ALBAWABA - American sportswear brand Nike recently made headlines after dropping Australian activist Grace Tame as a brand ambassador over her pro-Palestine posts about the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
Nike officially stated on Friday that it "agreed to part ways" with Tame without disclosing the reason publicly. However, on Monday, The Daily Mail Australia received a statement from the sportswear brand that read, "Nike does not stand for any form of discrimination, including antisemitism."
Tame, who is active on Instagram, recently shared several stories about the 12 activists on board Freedom Flotilla Coalition's 'Madleen,' who were recently detained by Israel after sailing from Sicily to Gaza to urge Israeli authorities to lift the siege on the Strip and let humanitarian aid in.
Nike axes Australian activist Grace Tame over Gaza support
According to The New Arab, she also occasionally shares posts discussing the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, further showcasing her pro-Palestinian stance. Last year, Grace Tame described Israel's actions in Palestine as a "Genocide."
Additionally, Tame also called for a Gaza ceasefire several times and signed a global petition by Oxfam in November 2023.
Besides her stance on Gaza, the well-known Australian athlete and activist is also a vocal advocate against sexual assault and has consistently supported its victims.
She also wrote in a post about International Women's Day last year, "We’re watching an accelerated genocide unfold before our eyes in Gaza, where innocent women and children account for around 70 per cent of the rising death toll. Many of our so-called leaders with the power and platforms to act are inert, apathetic, or worse, aiding and abetting."
Speculations erupted after Tame took down all her posts featuring Nike's brand, despite signing a $100,000 deal with the American brand in January.
According to Arab News, the activist and runner recently took jabs at retired American businessman Rupert Murdoch during a public event with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by wearing a t-shirt that read, "F**k Murdoch."
This was later accompanied by an Instagram post with a caption that described Murdoch and the likes of him as "dynastically wealthy white supremacist corporate oligarchs ruining our planet, funding genocide, war, and destruction."
The Australian, a newspaper owned by Murdoch, responded to Tame and accused her of being too fixated on Israel. It added that Nike's "face-saving statement of a mutual separation with Tame is arguably misplaced in its generosity."
