• by Danielle Oster , June 12, 2024

This year, Nike will not just do it, choosing to eschew its long-running, annual "Be True" Pride product collection.

Since 2012, the brand had released a series of limited-edition sneakers, T-shirts, and other products showcasing the brand’s support for the LGBTQ+ community. As June has ticked on, however, the collection was notably absent from the brand's website. Today, Nike confirmed in a statement sent to Marketing Daily that there will be no "Be True" Pride collection this year.

“Nike exists to champion athletes and sport — and for us that means all bodies, all movement, and all journeys. Nike has a long history of standing with the LGBTQIA+ community, which focuses on uplifting, inspiring and educating through community grants, employee engagement, athlete partnerships, public policy, powerful storytelling, and products that celebrate the community,” the company said in the statement. “While there is no global Be True product collection for 2024, Nike remains deeply committed to this work, and we will continue our financial commitments to ongoing organizations and offer exclusive programming for employees.”

Nike does appear to have partnered with Betsy Cola, a Philippines-based artist and illustrator, on a limited Nike By You X Pride collection, available only at a Taguig, Philippines retail location.

Since 2019, Nike has made financial contributions of around $10 million to LGTBQ+ organizations including Athlete Ally, the Out Foundation, GenderCoolProject, LGBT SportSafe and GLSEN.

This year, according to a source with knowledge of the Nike’s operations, the brand has made new financial commitments to organizations it has previously contributed to, and expanded contributions to new partners.

Last year, Nike released a comprehensive “Be True” Pride collection, alongside a “No Pride, No Sport” campaign, acknowledging that “Sport without the LGBTQIA+ is incomplete.” The campaign followed Nike partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for an Instagram post in April, in which  Mulvaney posted a series of photos modeling Nike leggings and a sports bra.

Commenters reacted to the post with transphobic comments, similar to the hate campaign and boycott threatening Bud Light after its own one-off partnership with Mulvaney.

Unlike Bud Light, the company didn’t issue any statement distancing itself from the partnership or its LGBTQ+ support. Instead, Nike’s response noted that that “Hate speech, bullying, or other behaviors that are not in the spirit of a diverse and inclusive community will be deleted."

While one anti-trans poster on TikTok attempted to instigate a “bra burning challenge,” it’s unclear if this led to any type of concerted boycott effort or had any impact on Nike sales. Nike reported revenue of $51.58 billion for the twelve months ending February 29, 2024, a 1.89% year-over-year increase.

In addition to foregoing its “Be True” Pride collection, the company has not yet posted in support of Pride Month on its main Instagram channel. Last year, by comparison, Nike posted celebrating the launch of its “Be True 2023” on June 1, and posted the “No Pride, No Sport” campaign on July 1.

The channel for its Nike Studios group fitness program did post a “Celebrate Pride with Nike Studios” message on June 6, and an account affiliated with its Philippines retail location posted about the aforementioned Nike By You X Pride collection in partnership with Betsy Cola.