Grace Tame’s contract with Nike under threat just six months after she was made an ambassador as sports brand launches probe into her views on Israel

Grace Tame’s role as a Nike ambassador may be at risk as the sportswear brand looks into her views on Israel.

The former Australian of the Year for her work as an advocate for sexual assault victims has shared several posts on social media in solidarity with Palestinians during the ongoing conflict with Israel. 

Nike released a statement on Monday stating Tame’s team were being spoken to, although it’s not been confirmed exactly what sparked the probe. 

‘Nike does not stand for any form of discrimination,’ a spokeswoman told The Australian. 

‘We take this matter very seriously and are in touch with Grace’s team to understand the matter further.’ 

Tame is now a long-distance runner and was appointed as a brand ambassador by Nike in January. 

Since then she has been outspoken in her support of Palestinians and last month joined a panel of speakers at the Feminism in the Time of Gaza forum. 

At least 450 people heard from four speakers at The Edge in Federation Square, Melbourne at a forum organised by the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN).

Grace Tame was unveiled as a brand ambassador for sportswear giant Nike earlier this year

The 30-year-old won the 2024 Victorian Great Ocean Road Ultramarathon (pictured)

Tame said this was the first time she had spoken publicly about Palestine and revealed she had been asked not to speak about the Gaza-Israel conflict at several events. 

‘Empathy should have no boundaries,’ said Tame, who won the 2024 Victorian Great Ocean Road Ultramarathon. 

Tame joined Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul woman Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, a lawyer and human rights advocate and Randa Abdel-Fattah, a writer and advocate for Palestinian people.

Jordana Silverstein, a senior research fellow at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness at the University of Melbourne, also sat on the panel.

On Monday, the same day Nike released a statement, Tame shared a quote from climate activist Greta Thunberg who is on board a Freedom Flotilla aid mission sailing to Gaza aimed at breaking Israel’s blockade. 

‘We are doing this because no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying, because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity.’

The World Health Organisation has warned Gaza is at risk of famine as a result of the blockade. 

Three-quarters of Gaza’s population is at risk of suffering ’emergency’ or ‘catastrophic’ food deprivation.

Tame joined a panel of speakers at the Feminism in the Time of Gaza forum in Melbourne last month, organised by the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN)

Tame pictured with Randa Abdel-Fattah, APAN president Nasser Mashni, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, moderator Dr. Micaela Sahhar and Jordana Silverstein (left to right)

Last week, Tame reposted a statement on Instagram from Palestinian writer Mohammed el-Kurd, in which he criticised journalists who reported on the fatal shooting of an Israeli embassy couple in Washington DC as a ‘random anti-Semitic attack’.

Sarah Lynn Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when they were shot dead.

Elias Rodriguez, who police say shouted ‘free Palestine’ after being taken into custody, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. 

In November 2023, Tame added her voice to Oxfam Australia’s demand for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Nike and Tame for comment. 

Tame had shared a gushing message in January after revealing she was the new ambassador for Nike.

‘I couldn’t be more excited to announce that I am officially an ambassador for Nike. This has been a long time in the making,’ she wrote.

She thanked her manager, Lauren Miller, and cousin Eloise Nairn-Smith, who founded the website Ritual Runners and who Tame called her ‘coach and hero’.

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