Nike’s Diversity Push Put the Brand in Trump’s Sights

Nike faced a federal EEOC investigation in Missouri after the Trump administration moved in court on Feb. 4, 2026, to compel information tied to allegations of anti-white discrimination.

Andrea Lucas, a commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (E.E.O.C), sent a 26-page memo to several agency officials, stating that Nike had been discriminating against white employees and job applicants.

Lucas, who has been appointed to the commission by President Trump during his first term, claimed that the retailer used internal processes to promote racial representation, even though it removed white executives from the company through layoffs, according to The New York Times.

Andrea Lucas targeting Nike

Nike’s commitment to DEI in its workforce was apparent. But after Lucas joined the E.E.O.C., she set her sights on the retailer. The E.E.O.C. had investigated employers who engaged in unfair hiring practices based on characteristics such as race, sex, disability, or national origin. However, Lucas targeted companies that appeared to discriminate against white men.

Nike’s Investigation

In May 2024, Andrea Lucas initiated a commissioner’s charge against Nike. But what was unusual was that most E.E.O.C investigations begin after an employee files a discrimination complaint. However, no employee complaint was required here. Federal law allows an E.E.O.C commissioner to start an investigation if they believe there is reason to think discrimination may have occurred.

In the last weeks of the Biden administration in January 2025, Nike settled an agreement with the E.E.OC. But after President Trump returned to office, the E.E.O.C. withdrew that settlement without any reasoning.

Earlier this year, the investigation became public after the agency filed a motion in federal court to implement a subpoena. “They are trying to change decades of settled precedent on these areas, and I do think they would like to get to the Supreme Court on a range of these issues,” Jenny Yang, a Democrat and former chair of the E.E.O.C., told The New York Times.

Image: Jerome