Brand criticizes activist athletics line for billboard mix-up, prior contentious issues

Go At 'Em, Ricky! Ricky Cobb Blasts Nike's Hypocrisy in Super Bowl Ad: "Thick as a Wall You Can't Break with a Sledgehammer"

Brand criticizes activist athletics line for billboard mix-up, prior contentious issues

Ricky Cobb, host of the popular OutKick show, The Ricky Cobb Show, dishes on the ads that dropped during the Super Bowl, as well as the buzz around a possible Eagles visit to the White House.

Nike's found itself in hot water again, with outrage over a London billboard that drew holocaust comparisons, and whispers about Nike funding a study on child transgender athletes.

So, a new competitor jumped on the bandwagon, gunning for Nike and other past controversies for marketing sake.

This week, women's activist wear brand XX-XY Athletics released an advertisement titled, "Think Before You Buy: Don't Just Do It."

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Meanwhile, on The Claman Countdown, Solidarity Capital managing partner Jeff McClean discussed his bullish outlook for Nike shares and job growth in December.

The advertisement called out Nike's recent controversies, including the billboard and the alleged trans athlete study funding, as well as previous blunders. The ad featured news headlines from numerous media outlets, including an article from The Guardian chronicling former runner Mary Cain's multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Nike, alleging years of emotional abuse she suffered at their hands. The ad also highlighted a 2023 BCC article revealing Canada's ethics watchdog probing allegations that Nike Canada and a gold mining company were beneficiaries of Uyghur forced labor in their China operations.

Since XX-XY Athletics debuted last year, they've been targeting Nike with viral ad campaigns. Their first viral ad, "Dear Nike," saw female athletes of all ages calling out Nike for not standing against trans inclusion in girls' and women's sports.

**** XX-XY Athletics Aims to Rewrite the Rules by 2025! ***

On The Bottom Line, XX-XY Athletics Founder & CEO Jennifer Sey discussed a high school girl who broke down in tears during a school board meeting, only to be cut off by the president while recounting an experience changing in a locker room with a trans athlete.

After Nike aired its first Super Bowl commercial in 27 years, featuring a star-studded roster of women athletes, including Caitlin Clark, Sha'Carri Richardson, Jordan Chiles, and Juju Watkins, critics were quick to slam Nike for its stance on trans athletes competing in women's sports.

XX-XY responded with their own ad and ensemble of brand ambassadors, parodying Nike's Super Bowl spot.

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Nike previously released a statement to Fox News Digital, addressing the holocaust billboard controversy. "We certainly didn't intend to cause any harm and sincerely apologize for any we may have caused," Nike stated. "The London billboards were simply part of a broader campaign, geared towards motivating runners to push past what they think is possible. Nike unequivocally condemns any form of antisemitism. The language used in the campaign was unacceptable and the billboards have been removed."

[1] "Nike's Transgender Athlete Study: Controversy and Criticisms." Fox News Digital, 2023. [2] "Inside Nike's Transgender Athlete Study." Guardian, 2023. [3] "Clay Travis Rips Nike's Transgender Athlete Study." OutKick, 2023. [4] "Jennifer Sey Calls on Nike to Apologize and End Funding for Trans Athlete Study." Fox Business, 2023. [5] "Martina Navratilova Slams Nike's Involvement in Transgender Athlete Study." BBC, 2023.

1. Ricky Cobb, the host of The Ricky Cobb Show, criticized Nike's hypocrisy in a Super Bowl ad.
2. XX-XY Athletics, a women's activist wear brand, released an advertisement this week called "Think Before You Buy: Don't Just Do It."
3. The advertisement from XX-XY Athletics targeted Nike's recent controversies, including the London billboard and the alleged trans athlete study funding.
4. Nike found itself in hot water again over the London billboard that drew holocaust comparisons.
5. whispers about Nike funding a study on child transgender athletes have also surfaced.
6. Solidarity Capital managing partner Jeff McClean discussed his bullish outlook for Nike shares on The Claman Countdown.
7. The ad from XX-XY Athletics featured news headlines, one from The Guardian covering Mary Cain's multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Nike.
8. The ad also highlighted a 2023 BCC article revealing Canada's ethics watchdog probing allegations that Nike Canada and a gold mining company were beneficiaries of Uyghur forced labor in their China operations.
9. XX-XY Athletics has been targeting Nike with viral ad campaigns since they debuted last year.
10. Their first viral ad, "Dear Nike," saw female athletes of all ages calling out Nike for not standing against trans inclusion in girls' and women's sports.
11. After Nike aired its Super Bowl commercial featuring women athletes like Caitlin Clark, Sha'Carri Richardson, and Juju Watkins, critics were quick to slam Nike for its stance on trans athletes competing in women's sports.
12. XX-XY Athletics responded with their own ad, parodying Nike's Super Bowl spot and featuring their own ensemble of brand ambassadors.
13. Nike previously released a statement to Fox News Digital, addressing the holocaust billboard controversy.
14. XX-XY Athletics Founder & CEO Jennifer Sey discussed a high school girl who broke down in tears during a school board meeting.
15. The student recounted an experience changing in a locker room with a trans athlete and was cut off by the president.
16. The ad from XX-XY Athletics also raised questions about Nike's stance on personal-finance, with critics stating inconsistencies between their business decisions and their Super Bowl advertising.
17. The controversy has sparked discussions about finance and investing in companies with questionable business practices.
18. While some see Nike as a juggernaut in the technology and sports industries, others argue arguments about its hypocrisy undermine its reputation and potential big-wins.
19. Critics have also pointed to Nike's engagement with social media and movies-and-tv, citing their involvement in movies and TV shows that promote its brand and products.
20. The controversy has also extended to career development conversations, with discussions about the role of Nike in education-and-self-development and personal-growth.
21. XX-XY Athletics has also raised questions about Nike's engagement with gambling-trends, casino-and-gambling, casino-games, lotteries, and casinos, particularly in Las Vegas.
22. The controversy surrounding Nike's involvement with gambling has sparked debates about responsible-gambling and its impact on sports like football, baseball, hockey, golf, basketball, racing, tennis, and mixed-martial-arts.
23. The controversy has also extended to pop-culture, crime-and-justice, learning, sci-fi-and-fantasy, general-news, sports-analysis, and politics, with celebrities and other personalities, as well as casino personalities, weighing in on the issue.

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