Did Nike's DEI efforts cross the line?

​In a court filing unsealed this week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said it’s probing whether Nike’s push to diversify its workforce led to a “pattern or practice” of treating white employees and job seekers unfairly in hiring, promotions, and layoffs.

According to the New York Times, the EEOC, an agency that was born from the Civil Rights Act, said it was investigating “systemic allegations of D.E.I.-related intentional race discrimination.”

​The agency’s probe does not identify a single victim and instead targets a broad swath based on Nike’s public reports and internal targets. It refers to “all White employees, former employees, prospective employees, and current and prospective training program applicants and participants who have been, continue to be, or may be in the future adversely affected by the [alleged] unlawful employment practices.”

​The investigation became public when the EEOC asked a federal judge in Missouri to compel Nike to fully comply with a subpoena issued in September, stating that the company had turned over some information but was withholding key documents.

​The subpoena seeks data dating back years on how race and ethnicity factored into decisions about who was hired, who was let go, and who received access to leadership and mentorship programs.

​“This feels like a surprising and unusual escalation,” Nike said, as shared by The Times. “We have had extensive, good-faith participation in an EEOC inquiry into our personnel practices, programs, and decisions and have had ongoing efforts to provide information and engage constructively with the agency.”

​Nike is the largest athleticwear company in the world and has been outspoken about politics in the past. In 2017, Mark Parker— then a chief executive—denounced the administration’s executive order that barred people from mostly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

​In a memo to staff, Parker shared the company’s belief in “a world where everyone celebrates the power of diversity.” The company also received backlash from Donald Trump, during his first presidential term, for running advertisements featuring Colin Kaepernick. “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything,” the ad is a nod to Kaepernick's decision to kneel during the national anthem.

According to CNN, court records show the agency is especially focused on 16 mentoring and career-development initiatives, which it says may have been effectively closed to some workers because of race. EEOC leaders argue that federal law bans race-based discrimination against any group, even when programs are framed as efforts to boost representation.

Nike, which employs tens of thousands of people globally, said in a statement that it has already provided “thousands of pages” of records and called the enforcement move an unexpected escalation.

The company has not publicly detailed which parts of its diversity strategy are under the microscope, but the outcome could influence how other major employers design future DEI plans.

In a Dec. 2025 video shared on X, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas asked the public: “Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex? You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws.”

​Meaning Nike could be the first of other targeted companies in the future.