Nike stores have been shut across South Africa following public outcry over a video containing a racial slur, allegedly made by the husband of an executive at the sports company.
A man, identified in South African media as Adam Catzavelos, posted a video of himself at an undisclosed seaside location, wearing a straw hat and sunglasses.
Speaking in a distinct South African accent, he films himself walking along the beach stating that he cannot see any black people, using a deeply offensive word.
A man reacts as he discovers a Nike store closed in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 22
Nike, which declined to comment on the store closures, is believed to have shut shops early for fear of retaliatory attacks
‘Amazing sea and not one kaffir in sight. F***ing heaven on earth’, he says to the camera.
The ‘K word’ as it is known in South Africa, is apartheid-era slang for a black person and is regarded as a deeply offensive slur on a par with the ‘N word’ in the rest of the world.
Several South African newspapers claim Catzavelos is the husband of a merchandising director at Nike.
Nike, which declined to comment on the store closures, is believed to have shut shops early for fear of retaliatory attacks.
Nike issued a statement reiterating its ‘long-standing commitment to diversity, inclusion and respect’, adding that the man seen in a video posted online was not a company employee.
Racist: Adam Catzavelos, allegedly the husband of a Nike executive, posted a video of himself on a beach in South Africa, stating that he cannot see any black people and using a racial slur
Outrage: The video has caused outrage in South Africa, and has allegedly forced Nike to close some stores for fear of retaliation
People walk past a closed Nike store in Cape Town, South Africa. Nike issued a statement reiterating its ‘long-standing commitment to diversity, inclusion and respect’
A Reuters witnesses confirmed that two Nike stores were shut at a mall in the Sandton district of Johannesburg.
The video has gone viral in South Africa, sparking outrage on social media, with a government minister calling for the video to be reported to police.
‘The racist video which shows a man allegedly identified as Adam Catzavelos using the ‘K-word’ is absolutely unacceptable,’ tweeted Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, who called for the video to be reported to the police.
‘We must all work together to isolate racists and report these incidences to law enforcement.’
The Eyewitness News site reported that the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party was preparing to report Catzavelos to police.
The main opposition Democratic Alliance party said in a statement that ‘those who espouse his views have no place in a united South Africa’.
‘The likes of Catzavelos undermine the project of nation-building and reconciliation,’ added Luyolo Mphithi, the party’s youth leader.
Local media reported that he had been fired from his job at Johannesburg-based St George Fine Foods following the racism firestorm.
Nedbank, one of South Africa’s largest banks, distanced itself from Catzavelos after it emerged that he had participated in a business development programme sponsored by the bank in 2014.
‘Nedbank… strongly condemn all forms of racism,’ said the bank in a statement.
South Africa remains deeply scarred by its apartheid and colonial past, with the racial reconciliation embraced by the late president Nelson Mandela frequently marred by racist incidents.