The Equal Employment Opportunity launches probe into Nike for alleged discrimination against White employees

A Nike logo is displayed at a Nike store in Austin, Texas. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has begun a probe into Nike over allegations involving discrimination against White employees.

 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is investigating Nike over the company’s treatment of its White employees in its corporate diversity policies. The investigation is one of the first high-profile cases of its kind under the Trump administration, which has urged workers to come forward with discrimination complaints.

On Wednesday, the EEOC revealed that it filed a subpoena enforcement action in a Missouri court to force Nike to turn over records tied to allegations that the company discriminated against White workers, as part of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program.

The agency claims Nike may have engaged in “a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against White employees, applicants and training program participants in hiring, promotion, demotion, or separation decisions, including selection for layoffs; internship programs; and mentoring, leadership development and other career development programs.”

“Thanks to President Trump’s commitment to enforcing our nation’s civil rights laws, the EEOC has renewed its focus on evenhanded enforcement of Title VII,” EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said in a statement.

 

Nike called the move a “surprising and unusual escalation.”

“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 stated. “We have shared thousands of pages of information and detailed written responses to the EEOC’s inquiry and are in the process of providing additional information.”

“We are committed to fair and lawful employment practices and follow all applicable laws, including those that prohibit discrimination,” the statement continued. “We believe our programs and practices are consistent with those obligations and take these matters seriously. We will continue our attempt to cooperate with the EEOC and will respond to the petition.”

 

The investigation mirrors the view of Trump’s “unlawful” and “woke” DEI practices that he promised to squash.

The EEOC has been a powerful tool in the Trump administration’s arsenal to stop laws put in place years ago to remedy racial inequities for Black workers and other marginalized groups.

After Trump appointed Lucas the chair of the EEOC, she publicly emphasized that Title VII protects all employees, including White men, from race and sex discrimination. In late 2025, she used social media to encourage White male employees who believe they have experienced workplace discrimination to file complaints with the EEOC.

 

“I intend to dispel the notion that only the ‘right sort of’ charging party is welcome through our doors,” Lucas said in a statement after her appointment.