Neo-Nazis declare New Balance the ‘official shoes of white people’, company responds
On Thursday, Andrew Anglin, who founded the neo-Nazi and white supremacist website Daily Stormer, lost his temper when New Balance denied his endorsement of the shoes as the “official shoes of White people.”
On Saturday, Anglin wrote that it was “time to get on-board with New Balance now” after Matt LeBretton, who is the vice president of affairs at New Balance, voiced his support for Donald Trump.
“New Balance is making a gesture to support White people and to support US manufacturing. We need to support that,” Anglin wrote. “I see New Balances now becoming the official shoes of White people.”
Then, on Monday, New Balance released a statement saying it “does not tolerate bigotry or hate in any form.”
— New Yorkers cope with post-election stress by penning subway notes —
— New Balance (@newbalance) November 15, 2016
“New Balance is a values-driven organization and culture that believes in humanity, integrity, community and mutual respect for people around the world,” the statement read.
But Anglin insisted that the statement was “obviously fake” and said that LeBretton sent a different one to the Daily Stormer that said “said he believes all Jews should be gassed ‘for real this time around.’”
“New Balance endorses bigotry and hate in any form,” reads the statement that Anglin claims is the original. “As a 110-year old company with five factories in the U.S. and thousands of white male employees worldwide – New Balance is a Republican-driven organization and culture that believes in White Supremacy, integrity, community and mutual respect for white males around the world. One of our officials was recently asked to comment on a trade policy and was quoted correctly in context. We have been and will always remain committed to manufacturing in the United States.”
“Don’t let the lying Jewish media get you down,” Anglin added.