The federal agency that safeguards hiring practices said on Wednesday that it was investigating Nike, the sportswear giant, for diversity efforts that it said amounted to discrimination against white workers.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, born of the Civil Rights Act, said it was investigating “systemic allegations of D.E.I.-related intentional race discrimination” against white employees and job applicants at Nike. It appears to be the first time that the commission has said diversity, equity and inclusion practices in workplaces can amount to discrimination against white people, and Nike is a high-profile target. The company has sponsorship partnerships with world-famous athletes including LeBron James and Caitlin Clark. It also drew criticism from President Trump during his first term for running advertisements featuring Colin Kaepernick, the football star who knelt during the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality.
The move positions the E.E.O.C. at the vanguard of the Trump administration’s broad assault on D.E.I. practices. Mr. Trump won re-election in 2024 in part by harnessing backlash to such practices, and in office he has given voice to claims of “reverse racism” against white people. The investigation is the most significant legal action that the commission has announced under Andrea Lucas, its chair, who has made diversity, equity and inclusion programs a target since taking the role last year. In a recent interview, she said: “It’s clear that I have priorities to deal with race and sex discrimination coming out of D.E.I.”
The Nike investigation was disclosed on Wednesday when the E.E.O.C. filed a motion in federal court in Missouri seeking to force Nike to comply with a subpoena from September. According to court documents filed with the motion, Ms. Lucas filed a discrimination charge against Nike in 2024, when she was a commissioner on the E.E.O.C. At the time, the commission had a Democratic majority; it now has a 2-to-1 Republican majority. Nike has fought the subpoena and made only partial responses to requests for information, according to the agency’s court filing.