A building at Nike’s Beaverton headquarters has been renamed after its namesake, the long distance running coach Alberto Salazar, was permanently barred from the sport of distance running by SafeSport. The news follows accusations of sexual and emotional abuse made by some women who trained under him.
Salazar, who has been affiliated with Nike for over 30 years, was originally supported by Nike when he first ran into trouble. In 2019, a 4 year ban was placed on Salazar after he violated anti-doping rules. Nike firmly stood by him at that time, with former Nike CEO Mark Parker saying that Salazar “acted in good faith.”
Last week, an internal memo was sent out to Nike employees announced that the new building would be renamed to Next% – the one of Nikes running shoes. It is unclear if Nike will continue naming buildings after athletes or coaches.
Following the initial accusations of misconduct towards athletes, Salazar said he “made comments that were callous and insensitive.” Salazar is yet to comment on the renaming of the building.
This isn’t the first time Nike renames a building after misconduct by the namesake is uncovered. In 2012, Nike renamed buildings that were named after Joe Paterno and Lance Armstrong, both of whom had been accused of misconduct.
