Adidas Donating Sales of Kanye West's Yeezy Shoes to Anti-Hate Groups Creates a Silver Lining for Jewish People

Adidas is making good on its promise to donate the sales of Kanye West's Yeezy shoes to anti-hate groups after the rapper's antisemitic comments came to light. Jewish Americans are also happy with the move, it seems.

Adidas found itself with billions of dollars' worth of Yeezy sneakers after the company parted ways with Kanye West last year, following his antisemitic rants. The company has moved to sell these shoes rather than waste the material and labor used to make them. However, Adidas is not profiting from the sales of these shoes but has pledged to donate the sales to anti-hate groups.

The Associated Press spoke with several Jewish civic leaders regarding the donations, and most of them see a silver lining to this.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson told the outlet that while he wasn't planning to buy a pair of Yeezys himself, he admits there is no value in "wasting the labor and material that went into making them."

The rabbi, who serves as the dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, added, "This move will raise funds for that fight, without minimizing his vile words."

Meanwhile, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, the CEO of the US-based human rights organization T'ruah, stated, "We commend the decision to donate profits to the fight against antisemitism, which is certainly preferable to the shoes going to landfills."

Adidas announced that it is releasing more Yeezy sneakers via an online sale this week, marking the second big release since the company cut ties in October with the artist now known as Ye back. The company had faced a dilemma over what to do with the sneakers, as the sales might cause a backlash.

Adidas was also asked if Kanye West would still receive royalties with the new batch of sales. The company answered, "We will honor our contractual obligations and enforce our rights but will not share any more details."

Yeezy Sales Will Benefit Anti-Defamation League and Foundation To Combat Antisemitism

Adidas confirmed that the sales of the Yeezy sneakers are going to two major anti-hate groups: the Anti-Defamation League and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.

According to The Independent, the shoes sold in North America will include the blue square pins from Kraft's organization.

The Patriots owner stated that this new partnership with Adidas is "a unique opportunity to raise awareness about antisemitism and all hate to a community that might otherwise not be aware."

Adidas Made a Lot of Money From the 1st Yeezy Restock

Adidas is still left with plenty of Yeezy sneakers to sell after the first restock back in May. However, Clutch Points pointed out that the sales from that restock were in the hundreds of millions.

Over 4 million remaining pairs of Yeezy sneakers were sold during the May restock, with Adidas earning over $565 million. It exceeded Adidas' most "optimistic forecast," though much of that money is still going to the ADL and Kraft's organization.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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