As evidenced by Nike’s backing of Colin Kaepernick, brands are finding out that being on the right side of justice is simply – right.
PUMA, Diggins-Smith along with former professional athlete Tommie Smith and Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, launched the #Reform initiative which provides notable figures from the realms of sports and entertainment a platform to start conversations about social change and how to push for those changes.
Diggins-Smith, one of PUMA’s signature athletes, was named captain for the effort of gender equality. She and other WNBA athletes have let their opinions show on the topic of equal pay for equal work, including in terms of the discrepancy between WNBA salaries and those of their NBA counterparts.
That is, for sure, going to be a hotly discussed topic as negotiations for a new CBA unfold.
The other topics of social justice that PUMA is championing are criminal justice reform – whose team will be captained by Meek Mill, and universal equality, whose team will be captained by Tommie Smith.
PUMA recently held an event at McElreath Hall at the Atlanta History Center introducing the campaign and featuring the three captains, as well as PUMA’s Global Director of Brand and Marketing, Adam Petrick.
It’s important to speak out about things that you care about, and the WNBA – be it the president or the front office – just having the players be able to speak for themselves, it’s important that we get support to speak about whatever we feel like is important to us because these social issues impact everybody differently.
