NIKE Code of Ethics does NOT apply to M. Vick? PFT

NIKE CODE OF CONDUCT & ETHICS DOESN'T APPLY TO VICK

A reader has sent us a link to the official Nike Code of Conduct & Ethics. Apparently, Mile Vick has negotiated an exemption from these guidelines in his contract with the athletic shoe giant.

We're being sarcastic (there's a shock). The point here is that Nike's decision to stand firmly behind Vick, in light of the available evidence regarding Vick's apparent dog-fighting involvement indicates that the company is not applying its Code of Conduct & Ethics to Vick.

In an introduction to the document, Nike Chairman Phil Knight writes, "This Code of Ethics is vitally important. It contains the rules of the game for NIKE, the rules we live by and what we stand for. Please read it. And if you've read it, read it again. Then take some time to think about what it says and make a commitment to play by it."

Though the code applies primarily to Nike employees, page 7 seems to suggest that it also applies to contractors, like Vick. At a minimum, it's obvious that if Vick were an actual Nike employee the situations in which he has been involved over the past few months (e.g., public display of obscene gesture, water bottle incident, not showing up for Congressional event, and owning property that hosted dog fighting) would have gotten him in trouble.

Consider page 5: "NIKE's good name and reputation result in large part from our collective actions. That means the work-related activities of every employee must reflect standards of honesty, loyalty, trustworthiness, fairness, concern for others and accountability. We are expected to be sensitive to any situations that can adversely affect NIKE's reputation and are expected to use good judgment and common sense in the way we all conduct business."

Or how about the list of questions on page 21 that a person should ask himself in order to determine whether he is doing "the right thing"? We suspect that the phrase "How will the decision affect others?" is something Vick has rarely asked himself.

Since Vick is a person with whom the company has aligned for the purposes of marketing its brand, it's all the more reason for the company to cast aside crutches like "due process" and, you know, "do the right thing."


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