Adidas Set To Give Proceeds From Yeezy Sales To Antisemitism Causes

Adidas has finalized — and publicized — its plans to clear out its leftover Yeezy products after months of debate.

The German sportswear company has declared its intention to sell off the remaining Yeezy products abandoned in its warehouse following the collapse of its partnership with Kanye West last year and donate the proceeds to antisemitism charities. The fashion giant had terminated its long-running — and very profitable — alliance with the rapper in October 2022 following his increasingly controversial racist and antisemitic remarks, making the partnership unsustainable.

Adidas announced on Friday, May 19, that it would be putting the rest of its Yeezy stockpile for sale, with an original release starting at the end of this month. The outfit added that it would donate a "significant amount" from selling the $1.2 billion worth of Yeezys to two notable nonprofit organizations fighting racism and antisemitism.

These groups are the Anti-Defamation League and a nonprofit founded and run by George Floyd's brother called the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, representing those most affected by Ye's words.

While the first highlights those affected by the "Jesus Walks" hitmaker's history of antisemitic language and beliefs, the second spotlights those hurt by his that George's death was caused by fentanyl, not the suffocation from a police officer's knee.

Even though he apologized to George's family in a rare show of defeat, several people are yet to forgive or forget his statements. This explains why Adidas' CEO Bjorn Gulden previously informed shareholders that offloading the leftover Yeezys and donating "money to the organizations that help us and were harmed by what Ye said" was the way forward. In his words, per Reuters:

 "We believe this is the best solution as it respects the created designs and the produced shoes, it works for our people, resolves an inventory problem, and will have a positive impact in our communities. There is no place in sport or society for hate of any kind, and we remain committed to fighting against it."

This upcoming release of some products will be the first time Adidas will sell Yeezys to customers since the dissolution of its collaboration with Ye. With this announcement, fans can corroborate that the German brand will not enter any new agreements with the father-of-four. 

Since the athletic apparel corporation owns all the Grammy award-winning artist's designs, it can do with it as it will, including creating new products without his name. While it remains unclear if they will eventually follow that route, The Blast noted that Ye supported Adidas using his designs without his permission earlier this year.

As for his apology to George's family, the Donda school owner had taken advantage of an interview session to address the racist comments he made about the former's death.

The Blast shared that the 45-year-old had expressed regret for questioning the authenticity of the details surrounding the late African American's death in May 2020, claiming that he now understood how the deceased felt having a knee on his neck. Addressing the viral clip that showed a police officer pinning George with his knee, Ye stated:

"When I see that video as a Black person, it hurts my feelings. And I know that police do attack, and America is generally racist. And I understand that when we got to say Black Lives Matter, that the idea of it made us feel good together as a people, right? So when I questioned the death of George Floyd, it hurt my people. I want to apologize."

The "Flashing Lights" rapper also explained that he now knows "how it feels to have a knee on my neck now," thanks to God, the media, and Adidas.

"So thank you, God, for humbling me and letting me know how it felt. Because how could the richest Black men ever be humbled other than to be made to not be a billionaire in front of everyone off of one comment," the "We Were Once a Fairytale" cameo star concluded.