Two more high-profile Under Armour endorsers — ballerina Misty Copeland and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — have taken to social media to oppose the flattering comments made by the company’s founder and CEO about President Donald J. Trump.
In separate statements on Thursday, Copeland and Johnson joined Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry – the Baltimore footwear and apparel brand’s top basketball ambassador – in registering their concern about remarks made by Kevin Plank.
Using the hashtag “CommittedToThePeople,” Johnson, a film actor and former professional wrestler, said on Twitter and other channels that Plank’s words – delivered Tuesday afternoon as part of a broad interview on CNBC’s “Halftime Report” – “are neither my words nor my beliefs. His words were divisive and lacking in perspective.”
Plank, who has contributed in the past both to Republican and Democratic elected officials in federal and state posts, told CNBC that having “such a pro-business president is something that’s a real asset to this country.”
Trump, Plank told the network, “wants to build things. He wants to make bold decisions and be decisive.”
Professional athletes and other celebrities have raised concern about a number of Trump statements and proposals, including his executive order to suspend refugee admissions and temporarily bar visitors from seven mostly Muslim countries.
Johnson, who agreed to a long-term partnership with Under Armour in January 2016, said he wasn’t severing ties with the company.
“I feel an obligation to stand with this diverse team, the American and global workers, who are the beating heart and soul of Under Armour and the reason I chose to partner with them,” his statement said.
Asked for comment Thursday, Under Armour released the same 280-word statement sent to news organizations the day before as it coped with a mounting backlash.
“We engage in policy, not politics,” said the statement, which stressed the company’s desire for fair trade, tax reform and an “inclusive immigration policy that welcomes the best and the brightest and those seeking opportunity in the great tradition of our country.”
Like Curry a day earlier, Copeland said she had been concerned enough about Plank’s comments to speak to him directly.
“I have spoken at length with Kevin privately about the matter,” she wrote on Instagram. “But as someone who takes my responsibility as a role model very seriously, it is important to me that he, and UA, take public action to clearly communicate and reflect our common values in order for us to effectively continue to work towards our shared goal of trying to motivate ALL people to be their best selves.”
While Plank called Trump an “asset” to the country, Curry told the Mercury News of San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday: “I agree with that description, if you remove the ‘et’” from “asset.”
On Thursday, Curry retweeted Johnson’s statement.
On Instagram, Copeland praised the support she has received from Under Armour but said: “One topic I’ve never backed away from speaking openly about is the importance of diversity and inclusion. It is imperative to me that my partners and sponsors share this belief.”
Copeland was the first African American female principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. She was featured by Under Armour in the "I Will What I Want" campaign, designed to attract women to the brand and continue to push women’s sales. She also was featured in another big campaign, "Rule Yourself."
Some on social media – but not the Under Armour athletes – have called for a boycott of company products.
Such efforts are often short-lived, said Auburn Bell, an adjunct professor of marketing at Loyola University Maryland, on Thursday.
“That said, the game changes if one of them actually breaks the relationship," Bell said.
Still, he said, even then, the damage is minimal and short-term.”
“The only thing that would take to a different level is if there is mass defection among the ambassadors, which isn’t likely to happen,” Bell said.
For brands such as Under Armour, partnering with athletes is “a balance between risk and reward," said T.J. Brightman, president of A. Bright Idea, a public relations and marketing firm with offices in Bel Air and Sonoma, Calif.
“CEOs of companies like UA share risk by association when they sign these agreements because they have no control over what the other side does,” Brightman said.
“For the very same reasons companies like UA want specific professional athletes to endorse their brands, there is also the risk that — just as Kevin Plank shared his commentary — that those same athletes who disagree speak out with their displeasure.”
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