On the Nike CEO stepping down and the brand's failure to truly appeal to women

Last week, Nike’s CEO John Donahoe “stepped down,” after serving in the role since January 2020. He had taken over for long time CEO Mark Parker, who had served in the role for 14 years. Parker was exited under a cloud of controversy regarding the treatment of female executives, abuse of athletes within the Nike Oregon Running Project and allegations of doping athletes.

Here’s my take on why Donahoe was never the right guy for the job, and Nike’s history of failing female consumers and potential fans.

---

---

And for or those who prefer to read vs watch:

Last week, John Donahoe — Nike’s CEO since 2020 — stepped down. Donahoe was a digital guy, not a brand guy. He’s not a consumer obsessed guy. So the wrong guy, in my opinion. Nike wanted him to transform their business from sort of analog to entirely digital. Perhaps he had the capability to do so, but he neglected the brand in the process.

He grew Nike’s sales but weakened the brand. Which is their major strength and their recipe for success.

And now, Nike is losing share to upstart brands like Hoka, and they’ve missed out on the rise of running clubs post-Covid, and just underinvested in running (their core competency, how they got their storied start) in general.

But, they’re also getting women’s wrong. And women’s is the fast growing piece of athletic clothing.

Frankly, Nike has never respected women.

In 2018, there was a mass firing of male executives after a whole bunch of female executives put together a report about the abuse and harassment they endured including being forced to go to strip clubs and having keys thrown at them in the course of a work day.

Around the same time, Mary Cain, a young runner in their running club which was called The Nike Oregon Project, came forward to say she was emotionally abused to the point of contemplating suicide, by the coach Alberto Salazar.

Salazar was eventually fired. Former CEO Mark Parker was implicated and the club was shut down. There were also allegations of blood doping and steroid use in the program.

Coach Alberto Salazar

Olympic and world champion track star Allyson Felix exposed Nike’s treatment of their female brand ambassadors when she wrote an op-ed stating Nike refused to build maternity protections into her contract. She left Nike and ended up starting her own running shoe company. Go Allyson.

Simone Biles, the world’s best gymnast ever, left Nike in 2021— to go work with Athleta, a company she says supports women. She didn’t say Nike didn’t, but that was the implication.

In 2018, Nike made a bunch of ads about Caster Semenya — the World Championships and Olympic medalist in the 800 meter.

Semenya tested for testosterone at levels way beyond what is possible for women. It was discovered that Semenya has a DSD, and XY chromosomes despite being raised as a girl. World athletics determined that Semenya cannot compete in the women’s category any longer without taking testosterone suppressing medication, because of the unfair male advantage. But Nike thinks its just mean and bigoted and really the world doesn’t want Semenya to compete in women’s because of not looking typically feminine. No, it’s because Semenya isn’t XX. Semenya is male. XY.

Of course we can’t forget featuring trans superstar Dylan Mulvaney — not an athlete, no boobs — in a social media campaign for Nike sports bras.

Anyway, this is all a long way to say: Nike doesn’t care about women, despite all of their Women’s History Month campaigns. They treat women with astonishing disregard. And the brand always has.

I bought and wore Nike for many years. And I do still wear the ones I bought years ago because I don’t like throwing things away that have utility. But I don’t buy their sneakers anymore.

I’m just one person. Maybe it makes no difference. But I try to shop my values and beyond their treatment of women, they manufacture in China where factory oversight is impossible.

Ladies — Nike will sell you out for any old woke photo op. Shop accordingly.