“Nike announces termination of contract with Brittney Griner after ‘strong backlash’ from online community.”

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner signed a deal with Nike in 2013 after she was selected as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. 

More than a decade later, a viral Facebook post claims the Nike deal has ended. 

“Nike announces termination of contract with Brittney Griner after ‘strong backlash’ from online community: ‘We need more athletes like Riley Gaines and less woke Brittney Griner!’” an Aug. 14 Facebook post said, referring to former University of Kentucky swimmer Gaines, who opposes transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports.

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

We found no evidence, such as credible news reports or public statements from Griner, Gaines or Nike to support this claim. 

Nike didn’t respond to PolitiFact’s questions about the post. But a spokesperson for Griner told PolitiFact the claim is false. 

As of Aug. 26, Nike was selling Griner jerseys on its website. Two weeks earlier, the brand featured Griner in a video shared on its X account celebrating the U.S. women’s basketball team’s gold medal victory in the 2024 Olympics. Griner also was named in Nike’s press release about the victory the same day. 

We rate claims Nike announced it’s ending its contract with Griner False.

UPDATE: This story was updated Sept. 19, 2024, to include a response from Brittney Griner’s spokesperson, who told PolitiFact the claim is false.