Karen Parkin retired at the end of June, less than one month after the employees asked Adidas to investigate the allegations. Parkin had faced criticism last year after telling employees at a meeting that she believed the issue of racism was “noise” and that it was only talked about in the US. She also told the employees that she didn’t think racism was at issue at Adidas.
“It has become clear to me that to unify the organization it would be better for me to retire and pave the way for change," Parkin noted in a written statement. She worked at Adidas for 23 years.
Adidas recently debuted some efforts to address racial inequality within the company and outside. Over the next five years, it aims to donate $120 million to U.S. initiatives dealing with racial injustice and to support black communities.