On Thursday, Adidas made LGBT athletes more comfortable to publicly confess their sexual orientation by announcing that the contracts for athletes that the sportswear company represents will feature a clause assuring the athletes Adidas will not terminate or alter the original contract as a result of their public confessions.
Adidas CFO Robin Stalker stated: “Adidas acknowledges and adheres to the principles of diversity, as this is a central part of the Adidas group philosophy. Therefore Adidas warrants that this agreement will neither be terminated nor modified in case the athlete comes out to the public as a member of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.”
Adidas has advocated for the LGBT cause. In October 2014, the company signed British diver Tom Daley , who is gay, to represent their NEO label. Daley publicly stated he was gay in December 2013.
Nike preceded Adidas in trumpeting gay athletes, signing Brittney Griner, who is a lesbian, to model men’s clothes in 2013, and making a publicity splash by re-signing NBA benchwarmer Jason Collins after he came out as gay.