The article makes a big deal about how it's rare to sign distance runners of color to endorsement deals in the US.
One runner said
“It’s definitely hard because I feel like there’s so many brands out there that are talking about inclusivity and diversity and this, this, and this, but they don’t really put their money where their mouth is.Oiselle is making a very important statement by standing behind its commitment to embrace racial justice and inclusivity in the sport of running. That’s the difference between other companies and Oiselle—they have a mission and they have values, and they actually act upon those. And you can see that expressed through them taking the time and effort and resources to sponsor women of color and particularly not sprinters.”
What?
I find the whole article to be bizarre. The article basically implies the other brands are racist .
In fact, a huge percentage of the most prominent mid-d and distance runners based in the Us over the last 20 years have been people of color, whether on the women's side of the ledger - Ajee Wilson, Athing Mu, Raevyn Rogers, Des Linden, Tuliamuk, Kipyego, Saina, etc. - or men's side - Centrowitz, Lagat, Nuguse, Chelimo, Meb, Abdi. etc.
What do you think?
And what's funny about the article is it puts all of the photos of the athletes in black and white so you can't really eventell what race they are.
i agree. what a bunch of marketing bs. what , they found four runners they can throw a bunch of clothing at that nobody buys and some race entry fees and call it good. are they paying these runners more than the ones you mentioned above are being payed? or given better resources? likely not. but with this oiselle sponsorship they probably will be able to qualify for public assistance. not breaking to many barriers there.
Africans are very different than Black Americans. Do some reading or at least get a few Black friends in your life before speaking on topics you know nothing about. For one, being raised in America, Black people are faced with racism from an early age, they have little to no other Black Americans to look towards for inspiration in regards to distance running because most names are out of Africa or African born. 2 very dofferent lifestyles. Being a runner in Africa, you have plenty of inspirational people who look like you you, grew up just like you and in some ways you feel connected. Media has done a horrible job of promoting Black Americans in distance in America which has led to less of them getting sponsored and tons of them not having much needed support to stay in the sport, thus they retire/exit pretty early. Much more to dive into but I'll let you do some research
That's like saying 'black Americans don't like camping because of media', as if it is media's job to make sure people of different colors participate in various activities or that even if the media tried to promote the same activities to different people, that the uptake would be similar. I doubt it would.
I agree that there are probably lifestyle choices that prevent most Americans from being fit regardless of color. I don't know how much of those lifestyle difference are due to 'the media', but I suspect that it might not be particularly empowering to blame lifestyle issues like laziness or lack of desire to engage in habitual endurance sports on the media.
Anyway, if representation is so important (and not just in color or genetics, but also in bs factors like name and nationality) then what's up with all the white distance runners? Who wants to make a pittance to be mediocre anywhere but in the USA? How is it inspirational to watch people who look like you usually loosing badly?
This inspiration and representation stuff seems like a con for people with poor imagination., no perspective, and no abstract thinking ability.
I won't be satisfied until Osielle makes shorts with a special pocket that holds my dick between my legs when I run and a sports bra that has C-cup (or better yet K-cup) pads sewn into it so that I can pretend to be a heroic and liberated Iranian woman when I run around the neighborhood.
If they don't make such clothing items then they clearly don't care about men like me who pretend to be middle-eastern women while running. Who will all the similarly-minded men have to look up to? Men who wear men's running gear? No thanks, Oiselle! The lack of options for men like me is exactly why people feel afraid to come out and show our TRUE selves while they run.
Don't be fooled by their boasts. It is WAY too little and way too LATE! They are still bigots and NOT inclusive.
One would have to be racist in order to think everyone is running around being racist all the time. The most racist are always the folks who see it in everything.
Des white. I know she has a Mexican grandma, but she white.
Des hides from her hispanic heritage. Her father is definitely Mexican but she hates on him and his heritage. It is sad.
She can identify with whatever heritage she wants (or none at all) without being labeled 'sad'. Nobody needs to be an advertisement for cultural stereotypes or stereotypes that their parents may classify under. "We love multiculturalism so much that we judge people for not being more multicultural." Silly.
Country is a key factor in it that's not mentioned. LRC's survey had Rupp's salary estimated at around $750k, while Tola was around $93k. But one's Ethiopian and the other is American - one's a far larger market
He's also not Usain Bolt who's a global superstar.
Decent way of looking at it and I reckon disparities are even more pronounced than 7 to 1 for most professions. I wonder what the difference in pay for a waiter or dentist in USA vs Ethiopia, for example. Interestingly, GDP per capita in USA is something like $73k and in Ethiopia it is around $900. Seems like those numbers track pretty well with the Rupp vs Tola income disparity!
It's called inclusion. The more Hispanics, Blacks, Asians, are seen participating in any given sport, the more likely they may consider giving it a go themselves. Nothing wrong with that.
Contradiction to your argument, aren’t there enough black people running from point A to B professionally, on contracts for them not to feel left out ?
The picture is hilarious. They all look white or nearly white. In "real life" most of them would pass the so-called paper bag test. What is the paper bag test? In ballet, for example, it's said you can't become a professional ballerina unless your skin is lighter than a standard paper bag. Misty Copeland, who is mixed, passes.
I think it's funny how so many woke brands are giving themselves big pats on the back for hiring POC, but the women they hire or represent or advertise with are largely either mixed, or Asian or Hispanic or other light-skinned women, as opposed to people who are Black and not mixed. Saying, "we hire / sponsor POC" is a much lower bar than, "we hire / sponsor black people."
Has Oiselle ever had a really successful athlete? I think their sponsorship is mostly for show. I don't get the feeling their athletes are getting a ton of money. And I also don't see a of of loyalty towards their athletes either. They have a bad year or two, they get dropped. Since they tend to sponsor somewhat marginal athletes to begin with, that's a high likelihood event.
Creating an issue where there isn’t one. You find an article, that is simply a writer finding something to write about, on a tiny website, trying to make it out to be a problem. Oiselle is a feel good company, they’ve made it a point to sign C/D level women. If they are trying to create opportunity for women of color, good for them. The quote you used is correct, very company advertises their inclusion and diversity but strictly go for results. Good for them. You’re reaching with the names you compiled there trying to support your pathetic reactionary point.
I watched Nuguse win the 1500 and 2 east African-born runners get 1 and 2 in the 5000.
This is just Kara Goucher's woke company trying to stay relevant.
This is woke, that is woke, everything that offends me is woke…
Not really. I'm offended by Christian nationalists trying to push their morality on the public, but that's not woke. Woke is a quasi-religious ideology embraced by highly educated and/or financially-secure elites. It's usually a virtue-signalling status game. When corporations go woke, they embrace oppression olympics identity politics to improve their ESG rating and/or sell more stuff. Oiselle was selling Kamala Harris merchandise a few years ago, and they have a lame feminist bookstore. Corporate feminism is woke. However, they don't take a stand on anything remotely controversial, like penis people in women's sports or male rapists in women's prisons.