Nike Under Investigation By Trump Administration For Discriminating Against White People

Nike is currently under investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The EEOC has accused Nike of discrimination against white workers with DEI policies. They filed an action in federal court on Feb. 4. 

“Pattern or practice of disparate treatment against White employees, applicants and training program participants in hiring, promotion, demotion, or separation decisions, including selection for layoffs; internship programs; and mentoring, leadership development and other career development programs,” the EEOC said in a public statement.

President Donald Trump has attacked DEI programs as being discriminatory against white people. He recently said that “white people have been treated very badly” by civil rights laws.

Nike said they were surprised by this move. They have submitted 100,000s of documents to the EEOC proving their hiring practices are fair. Nike’s legal team is arguing that the filing is overbroad. The judge has the right to throw out a filing they believe is overbroad.

The EEOC’s argument relies on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, Title VII, which covers equal employment. In April 2025, President Trump passed Executive Order 14281, called “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.” This order looked to challenge DEI policies that may have led to white people being passed up.

According to Nike’s homepage, 40% of its workforce identifies as white. Leadership in the company is around 70 percent white. Nike underwent a large DEI initiative in 2020 to increase representation. In 2020, the company was about 68 percent white. Despite this, they have failed to reach the goals of a more diverse leadership group. It’s unclear if any white person was fired or if this was simply creating more roles. 

After Trump’s inauguration, many companies scrapped their DEI policies in hopes of avoiding legal consequences. Nike was one of the companies that kept their DEI policies. They recently appointed a new DEI chief.