Decathlon Turkey Calls for 'Inclusiveness' After Reactions to 'Pride Month' Post

Photo: Ekmek ve Gül

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The Turkey branch of Decathlon, an international sports equipment retailer based in France, has been targeted on social media after an Instagram post that said the company has an "equal work environment regardless of sexual orientation."

"There is room for every color at Decathlon," it said on the occasion of the Pride Month.

In reaction to the message, some social media users have launched a boycott campaign against the company whereas there were also users praising it.

After deleting the message, Decathlon released a statement today (June 5), saying that it was "surprised and upset" after the reaction and comments on its post.

Sporun birleştirici gücüne inanıyoruz. pic.twitter.com/tAcC753QpH

— Decathlon Türkiye (@DecathlonTurkey) June 4, 2020

Reminding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights article that says, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights," Decathlon noted, "No company, individual, or any power can take this right away from people."

Also referring to the killing of George Floyd by the police in the US, it said, "We invite everyone to be more sensitive and inclusive these days when we see how discrimination is dragging the world into chaos in different ways." (EMK/VK)