Trump Immigration Update: Nike's Mark Parker Responds To Travel Order With Statement

Following President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order temporarily halting refugees and immigration from certain countries, more than a few top business executives have come out in protest of the travel ban. Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, was the latest to denounce the policy in an email to his employees Sunday.

“Nike believes in a world where everyone celebrates the power of diversity. Regardless of whether or how you worship, where you come from or who you love, everyone’s individual experience is what makes us stronger as a whole,” he wrote. “Those values are being threatened by the recent executive order in the U.S. banning refugees, as well as visitors, from seven Muslim-majority countries. This is a policy we don’t support.”

Parker mentioned his concern for Sir Mo Farah, an Olympic medalist who feared he wouldn’t be able to return from Ethiopia to see his family in Oregon.

“Nike stands together against bigotry and any form of discrimination. We’ve learned that on the field of play, where fairness and mutual respect are the rule, not the exception. Now, more than ever, let’s stand up for our values and remain open and inclusive as a brand and as a company,” wrote Parker. “We are at our best when we recognize the value of our diverse community.”

Parker is merely the latest corporate industry leader to voice his opposition to Trump’s executive order. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Proctor & Gamble CEO David Taylor and Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein, among others, all condemned the policy. Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, cited his immigrant great-grandparents and his wife’s immigrant parents in a Facebook post opposing the ban.

“Like many of you, I’m concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump,” he wrote.

Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz pledged to hire 10,000 Syrian refugees in the coming years, while the co-founders of Lyft announced they would donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years.