The French sports brand Decathlon was faced Friday in Turkey with boycott calls but also expressions of sympathy on social networks, for having published messages of support for LGBT communities (lesbians, gay, bisexual or bisexual and trans). It all started with a message shared Monday on Instagram and LinkedIn by Decathlon in Turkey. The brand published its name written in the colors of the rainbow, symbol of LGBT communities, with the following message: “All colors are welcome at Decathlon. "
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Onur Ayı kapsamında, Decathlon Türkiye Linkedin ve Instagram Kariyer hesaplarımızdan, çalışma ortamımızın çeşitliliği ve kapsayıcılığı ile ilgili yapmış olduğumuz paylaşıma gelen tepürıılar. Ayrımcılığın her çeşidine karşıyız. Decathlon Türkiye olarak; din, dil, ırk, cinsiyet, cinsel kimlik ve yönelim fark etmeksizin, herkesin kendini ifade edebileceği ve kendi olabileceği bir ortama sahibiz ve bununla gurur duyuyoruz. Başka türlüsünü by zaten düşünemiyoruz. İnsan Hakları Evrensel Beyannamesi'nde de yer aldığı üzere, '' Bütün insanlar özgür, onur ve haklar bakımından eşit doğarlar ''. Hiçbir şirket, birey, hatta hiçbir kuvvet, bu hakkı kişilerin elinden alamaz. Ayrımcılığın farklı şekillerde dünyayı nasıl bir kaosa sürüklediğini gördüğümüz bu günlerde, herkesi daha duyarlı ve kapsayıcı olmaya davet ediyoruz. Biz tüm renkleri içerisinde barındıran ve çeşitliliğe kucak açmış, insana insan olduğu için değer veren duruşumuzun her zaman gururla arkasındayız. Sporun birleştirici gücüne inanıyoruz!
A post shared by Decathlon Türkiye (@decathlonturkey) on Jun 4, 2020 at 9:22 am PDT
This initiative provoked virulent and often homophobic reactions on the part of many Internet users using the hashtag "Decathlon boycott". “We will not allow Decathlon to make LGBT sacred. Personally, I'm going to boycott Decathlon, ”a surfer with more than 180,000 subscribers said on Thursday evening. An editorial writer close to the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hilal Kaplan, also called for a boycott.
"Decathlon is not alone"
But other internet users were flying to the rescue of the brand, using the hashtag "Decathlon is not alone". Faced with hostile reactions, Decathlon expressed Thursday its "surprise" and its "pain". "We are against all forms of discrimination (...) We believe in the unifying power of sport," the company said in a statement. Turkey is one of the few Muslim countries where homosexuality is not punishable by law. On the other hand, homophobia and transphobia are widespread there and LGBT associations regularly report attacks.
The Istanbul Pride March, which used to bring together several thousand people, has also been banned for several years. Decathlon, one of the biggest sellers of sports equipment in the world, had already found itself in the middle of a controversy last year, in France, after having wanted to sell a "sports hijab". Faced with virulent criticism from almost all political parties, but also insults and threats, the brand had backed down and decided not to market this product.
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