Animal Group Calls on Jackie Joyner-Kersee — Now a Director of Adidas — to Extract the Athletic Wear Giant from Kangaroo-Skin Trade

Washington, D.C. — The Center for a Humane Economy has called on Olympic gold medalist and world champion athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee to leave the Adidas board of directors in short order unless the company halts its sourcing of kangaroo skins to make some models of soccer cleats.

Leaders have directly petitioned the sports hero and noted philanthropist to use her position as a director of Adidas to influence the global sportswear brand to discontinue its line of soccer shoes fabricated from kangaroo hides. They also have launched a national appeal for people to email Joyner-Kersee to show their support for stopping what Center officials call “the largest terrestrial slaughter of wildlife in the world.”

The Center has demanded that all athletic shoe companies use alternative fabrics in shoes to halt the mass wounding and killing kangaroos in night-time commercial shoots and the orphaning of hundreds of thousands of joeys left behind to suffer and die. Companies such as Nike, New Balance, Puma, and Sokito have complied, leaving Adidas as the last and most significant brand to source skins from kangaroos slain in their native habitats by commercial shooters.

Informed observers estimate that each year, commercial shooters kill more than 1 million adult kangaroos in their native habitats in Australia, along with perhaps 300,000 orphaned joeys. Those numbers are down by several hundred thousand since the Center launched its Kangaroos Are Not Shoes campaign.

“Adidas is not following its own corporate policy on animal-derived and ethically sourced materials,” said Jennifer Skiff, director of international for the Center and the leader of the Kangaroos Are Not Shoes campaign. “As a board member, Ms. Joyner-Kersee has a responsibility to shareholders to ensure policy is followed. She is also a person who is known for her compassion.  We hope and believe she’ll do the right thing.”

Joyner-Kersee is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champion in track and field. She has left an indelible mark on the sports community and inspired much of America, particularly young people and people of color. She also works to empower youth through her Jackie Joyner-Kersee foundation.

“Jackie has reminded us that human beings have excellence and extraordinary vitality and vigor within themselves,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy. “But it’s distressing to see human energy devoted to slaughtering other mammals who just want to live in peace and safety. Jackie should not remain as an Adidas director if this company continues to drive the slaughter of kangaroos in their native habitats.”