Feds Investigate Nike for Alleged Discrimination Against White Employees

The Trump administration is taking aim at one of the most powerful corporations in America.

On Wednesday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) asked a federal court to compel Nike to produce internal records related to its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, amid allegations that the company discriminated against white employees and job applicants to meet race-based hiring goals.

The EEOC says Nike has been stonewalling a federal subpoena and is now facing an enforcement action in federal court.

At the heart of the probe are accusations of “disparate treatment” against white workers, particularly in how Nike selected individuals for layoffs. The government wants documents going back to 2018 and has made clear this isn’t just about transparency it’s about potential civil rights violations.

“Title VII’s prohibition of race-based employment discrimination is colorblind,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “We will take all necessary steps including subpoena enforcement actions to investigate.”

The allegations stem from a civil rights complaint filed in January 2024 by America First Legal, a conservative legal group led by former Trump officials. That complaint highlighted how Nike set explicit DEI goals: 50% of its global corporate workforce to be women, and 35% of its U.S. corporate staff to be racial minorities.

Nowhere in the company’s DEI materials, however, is there any mention of white men, despite the company boasting about its Employee Networks for women, racial minorities, and LGBT employees.

That omission hasn’t gone unnoticed. “When there are compelling indications, including corporate admissions... that DEI programs may violate federal prohibitions against race discrimination... the EEOC will act,” Lucas added.

Nike, for its part, is crying foul. A spokesperson told The Daily Wire the government’s action “feels like a surprising and unusual escalation,” insisting the company has already handed over thousands of pages of documents and “detailed written responses.”

But that “cooperation” hasn’t satisfied federal investigators. The EEOC wants clarity on how race factored into layoffs, hiring, and promotions and why Nike continues to champion race-based workforce metrics as part of its business model.

This isn’t an isolated case. In 2023, NASCAR was forced to drop a racially discriminatory internship program that excluded white applicants. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a white woman who was denied a promotion in favor of an LGBT candidate, affirming that white and straight Americans are equally protected under federal anti-discrimination law.

Nike, like many woke corporations, has leaned hard into DEI ideology but that corporate virtue signaling is now colliding with the law.

The EEOC’s message is clear the Civil Rights Act applies to everyone not just the groups trendy HR departments decide to elevate.

As more companies face legal scrutiny for racial and ideological hiring quotas, this case may set the tone for a much-needed correction across corporate America.

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