Leading sports apparel manufacturer Adidas issued an apology on Thurday after facing severe backlash from the pro-Israel American Jewish Committee (AJC) for making model Bella Hadid the face of a campaign to market a retro sneaker referencing the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Adidas apologised for "any upset or distress caused" by including Bella Hadid, a model with Palestinian lineage, in advertisements for its 1972 Munich Olympic sneaker relaunch, reported TMZ.
A global shoe brand, Adidas selected Hadid as the face of its recently-launched SL72 campaign, which celebrates the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympics with the revival of Adidas' "coveted classic" sneaker from the 1970s.
The 1972 Munich Olympics are still remembered as one of the darkest days in sporting history. Palestinian terrorists, representing the militant group "Black September," killed 11 members of Israel's Olympic team after taking them hostage.
For 34 hours, the Olympic Games were suspended, and a mass was held in the main stadium to pay tribute to the victims.
Bella is a Palestinian-American model, and her father was a Palestinian immigrant. She has been critical of Israel amid the ongoing war between Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces. She has also offered support to relief efforts for Palestinians in Gaza. Her involvement with the shoe that references the 1972 Olympics led to backlash from the AJC.
"At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, 12 Israelis were murdered and taken hostage by Palestinian terrorist group Black September. For Adidas to pick a vocal anti-Israel model to recall this dark Olympics is either a massive oversight or intentionally inflammatory. Neither is acceptable. We call on Adidas to address this egregious error," the AJC said in a statement on Thursday.
Adidas responded to the criticism, apologised for upsetting the concerned community, and said in a statement as quoted from TMZ, "We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events - though these are completely unintentional - and we apologize for any upset or distress caused. As a result, we are revising the remainder of the campaign."
