DUBAI: Nike is investigating the “misuse” of its logo seen on fake products branded with a racist slur against the Romany Gypsy community in Europe.
Products have been taken down on eBay and Amazon and included baby clothes, hoodies, bags and fridge magnets.
They were all branded with a race hate slur and the tagline “Just Nick It” instead of Nike’s “Just Do It.”
BBC Newsbeat spoke to Dr. Hazel Marsh, a Romany Gypsy and a lecturer at the University of East Anglia in the UK, who said she had reported the offensive products to Nike and received a letter from a representative in return.
“I just want to say thank you for letting us know about this misuse of our logo,” the letter read.
“We here at Nike respect and appreciate every one of our consumers no matter what their race, age or gender is,” it added.
The products are printed with the slur “Pikey,” thought to originate from the phrase “turnpike dweller” that was used in the 1800s.
“That word is a disgusting word. It’s exactly the same as the n-word,” Sherrie Smith, who runs a website where racism against the Gypsy and traveling community can be reported, told BBC Newsbeat.
Amazon told the news site that they had removed two product listings while eBay said it was in the process to doing so.
Nike reacts to ‘misuse’ of logo in racist knock-off merchandise
Nike reacts to ‘misuse’ of logo in racist knock-off merchandise
