Running has been at the forefront of Nike for decades. In 2001, Nike established the Oregon Project based in Beaverton, Oregon. Headed by Coach Alberto Salazar, Oregon Project recruited the top US and foreign middle and long distance runners. Athletes like Mo Farrah (pictured) and Galen Rupp added a collection of records and championships to Nike’s name. However, in October 2019 the program was shut down by Nike.
On October 1st, Alberto Salazar received a four year ban from the United States Anti Doping Agency. Following that, CEO of Nike, Mark Parker, announced the closing of the Oregon Project on October 10th. Nike then had to help the athlete find alternative training programs. However, Nike’s woes regarding the situation are far from over. According to ESPN “Nike is investigating allegations by former middle-distance runner Mary Cain that she suffered physical and mental abuse as a member of the Nike Oregon Project.”
Cain, like many other female athletes, got caught up in a win-at-all-costs culture in sports. Cain is not the first athlete to accuse Nike specifically of systematically promoting athletes to get thinner and thinner. Gracie Gold reported the same abuse back in 2014 and many other athletes have come forward following Cain. I encourage you to watch this video from The New York Times. Here, Cain explains the extent of her abuse at the hands of Coach Salazar and the negative effects it had on her health and athletic ability.
The TLDR version is that after months of dieting and frustration, Cain found herself choosing between training with the best tam in the world, or potentially developing osteoporosis and infertility. She lost her period for three years and broke five bones. She went from being a once in a generation Olympic hopeful to having suicidal thoughts.
Nike has a received almost no consequences for what happened. What do you think should happen to Nike? Should Nike executives face investigation? Should they be forced to resign?
Wow, this is a very interesting and moving topic. I like how you shine light on this because it’s unacceptable that Nike could do something like this without consequences. Just because Nike is a huge corporation doesn’t mean they can carry out immoral acts without consequences which this article brings up.
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