Kanye's Continued Ties With Adidas Amid Antisemitism Sparks Nazi Discussion

Adidas' continued relationship with Kanye West as he is involved in an antisemitism scandal has prompted a number of social media users to discuss the historical Nazi ties of the sportswear giant's founder.

West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, sparked controversy at his October 3 Yeezy fashion show in Paris. He appeared wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words "White Lives Matter," a slogan commonly used by white supremacists as well as general opponents of the Black Lives Matter movement.

West also shared a screenshot of what appeared to be a text message exchange with Sean "Diddy" Combs, in which he responded to the rap mogul's objection to his stunt by stating that he would "show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me."

After West's since-removed post led to his Instagram account being restricted last week, the musician made his way to Twitter to continue sharing his thoughts.

"I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE," West posted in a tweet that is no longer available. "The funny thing is I actually can't be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."

West was subsequently locked out of his Twitter account for violating the platform's policies.

After going on to make more comments about Jewish people during an appearance on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, West faced relentless backlash across social media—as well as criticism from fellow celebrities.

While West's comments have seen businesses distance themselves from the musician, a seconds-long snippet from his October 16Drink Champs interview has sparked questions about Adidas' continued ties to him.

In the clip, West—who started working with Adidas in 2015 on his Yeezy sneaker collections—was shown saying: "The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s*** and they can't drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can't drop me. Now what?"

Responding to the clip, which has been viewed more than 4 million times on Twitter, political strategist Adam Parkhomenko called out Adidas.

"Adidas has clearly decided to be the Nazi company. Again," Parkhomenko wrote on the micro-blogging platform on Sunday.

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, echoed a similar sentiment, tweeting that Adidas "was founded by two members of the Nazi Party, the brothers Rudolf and Adolf 'Adi' Dassler. Adi gave his name to the company. Separately, Rudolf went on to start Puma."

Non-profit watchdog organization StopAntisemitism.org also tweeted about Adidas' past links to Nazism, adding: "Do the right thing @adidas and drop your partnership with @kanyewest."

According to a 2008 article in The Cut, sportswear companies Adidas and Puma were founded by German brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, who were originally co-owners of an athletic shoe business called Dassler Brothers.

Quoting Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and the Family Feud, a book by Dutch journalist Barbara Smit, Rudolph Dassler blamed his brother when he was forced to serve with German forces in Poland during World War II.

According to TMZ, the brothers also supplied athletic footwear to members of the Nazi party during that time span.

Following the war, Rudolph Dassler broke away from his brother and opened his own shoe store called Puma, while Adolph Dassler renamed his business Adidas.

Newsweek has reached out to representatives of Adidas for comment.