Nike Should Remove Flagship Store From Trump Tower, Petition Says

MIDTOWN, NY — More than 60,000 people signed a petition created by California-based nonprofit Courage Campaign to Nike saying the company should leave its flagship store in Manhattan's Trump Tower. The petition called on Nike to relocate NikeTown when its lease allegedly expires in 2017 - in other words, not renew the lease.

Courage Campaign's petition said that Nike's "continued association with Trump is unacceptable," after more than 10 allegations of sexual assault have been issued against him in just the past few weeks. The nonprofit had issued a petition like this earlier this year, but it is focusing renewed energy on the issue since the assault allegations surfaced, it said in a statement.

"Nike is in a multi-year lease agreement for our NikeTown New York location, and it does not end in 2017," Nike spokesperson Brian Strong said in an email to Patch, after we reached out for comment.

"For a leading global corporation that boasts its dedication to diversity and inclusion, Nike has done absolutely NOTHING to disassociate itself with Trump and his misogynistic presidential campaign," William Winters, campaign manager for the Courage Campaign, said in a statement. "Even after Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women, Nike did nothing. And its silence is deafening."

The nonprofit brought up other companies that have dumped Trump during the presidential election due to his racist, sexist, and xenophobic remarks. More than a dozen companies have severed ties with the Republican presidential candidate over the past year and a half, including Macy's, Univision, NBCUniversal, and ESPN.

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