Adidas offering to help high schools drop Native mascots

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Adidas is offering to help high schools nationwide drop Native American mascots.

The athletic shoe and apparel maker said Thursday it will provide free design resources to schools looking to shelve Native American mascots, nicknames, imagery or symbolism. The German company also pledged to provide financial support to ensure the cost of changing is not prohibitive.

Adidas announced the initiative in conjunction with the White House Tribal Nations Conference on Thursday in Washington. Adidas executives were among those attending the conference, which includes leaders from the 567 federally recognized tribes.

The company, which has its North American headquarters in Portland, Oregon, also said it will be a founding member of a coalition that addresses Native American mascots in sports.

According to the group Change the Mascot, there are about 2,000 schools nationwide that have Native American mascots.

The advocacy group says about a dozen schools have dropped Native mascots over the past two years and another 20 are considering a change.

Eric Liedtke, Adidas head of global brands who traveled to the conference, said sports must be inclusive.

"Today's announcement is a great way for us to offer up our resources to schools that want to do what's right - to administrators, teachers, students and athletes who want to make a difference in their lives and in their world," Liedtke said in a statement to the Associated Press. "Our intention is to help break down any barriers to change - change that can lead to a more respectful and inclusive environment for all American athletes."

The voluntary program would give schools access to the company's design team for logo redesign and uniform design across all sports. It seeks to be a collaborative effort with schools.

Adidas emphasized the initiative only involves high schools, and that the company is not mandating that schools change mascots and nicknames. The program does not involve its other agreements or sponsorships with professional or college teams, or with individual athletes.

The company said it embarked on the initiative because it became clear - through conversations with the White House - that schools "wanting to make a change had very little avenues to do so."

"We are committed to continuing a dialogue to look at the issue of Native images in sports and work to find solutions. Ultimately, it's the teams, athletes, coaches and fans who decide what changes they want to make. And if they want to make a change and we can help, then we want to help," the company said.