It seems that not everyone is happy about Adidas’ new announcement regarding its LGBT policy.
Last week, the sports giant added a new clause into its contracts ensuring athletes won’t lose sponsorship if they publicly reveal their sexuality.
According to NewNowNext Adidas CFO Robin Stalker revealed the news at Team Pride – a British conference aimed at improving visibility in sports.
He said:
Adidas acknowledges and adheres to the principles of diversity, as this is a central part of the Adidas group philosophy.
Therefore Adidas warrants that this agreement will neither be terminated nor modified in case the athlete comes out to the public as a member of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.
To mark their announcement Adidas posted this picture to Instagram for Valentine’s Day (along with a Beatles lyric):
The love you take is equal to the love you make.
A photo posted by adidas (@adidas) on
However, a small group of homophobic trolls took exception to the post which features a same-sex couple, with some accusing the company of ‘taking sides’.
One post read: “Companys should not take sides on these types of topics this is so fucking stupid.” While another hit out at the successful global brand threatening: “Shame on you adidas!!! I’m going to Nike now.”
If they have a problem with homosexuality – Nike probably isn’t the brand for them either…
Another angry homophobe came up with this absolute crock of shit: “WTF Adidas? This day is for boy and girl, when they are a couple. Not for lesbians, stupid adidas.” To which they simply responded: “No, this day is for LOVE. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
As you would expect, the whole exchange seems to have won them far more fans than they might have lost, and the ad has been liked over 221,000 times – so screw the haters!
