The league stepped up its pressure on Adidas this week, after members of a hate group hung a banner reading “Kanye is right about the Jews” over a Los Angeles freeway.
In Germany, the Central Council of Jews called on the Bavarian-based sportswear giant to cut its ties to Ye. “The historical responsibility of Adidas lays not only in the German roots of the company, but also in its entanglement with the Nazi regime,” Josef Schuster, the head of the council, said. “I simply expect such a company to take a strict position regarding antisemitism”
The founder of Adidas, Adi Dassler, belonged to the Nazi Party , and his factory was forced to produce munitions in the final years of the war. It was only thanks to the sworn statement of a Jewish friend that he was allowed to found the present-day company after World War II ended. Antisemitic statements made online can lead to prosecution in Germany and companies with ties to the Nazi era are expected to act to prevent the return of such sentiment.
Shares of Adidas fell to their lowest point since 2016 in trading on Tuesday, down more than 3 percent. The company’s stock has fallen over 20 percent in the past month, as Ye embarked on his latest bout of outrageous behavior.
The company said it expected the move to have a “short-term negative impact of up to €250 million” on income for the year. Adidas makes the uniforms for the German, Spanish and Argentine soccer teams that will be playing in this year’s World Cup championship to be held this year in November and December.
The end of Ye’s partnership with Adidas comes as his most recent musical ventures have fallen short of previous efforts. His last album, for instance, did not come out on streaming services, but a proprietary $200 speaker device . Longtime fans have criticized his increasing dalliances with right-wing figures, including more frequent associations with Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson and an agreement to buy the right-leaning social network Parler .
Ye has stated that he plans to open his own retail stores, as part of his rejection of the corporate world and creation of what he has reportedly called the “Yecosystem.”