#and joyce who is working class and gets treated as a crazy woman

[upside-down-low]

what

[paniccord-ff]

38. Part 5

Passing the joint to Blake “this is good shit in Amsterdam, you never been here before?” this shit in Amsterdam always makes me more higher than I usually am “I am angry at you cuz, how you going to announce you pregnant” Keeis said, busting out laughing at him “me? The fuck am I going to do? Give birth through my dick, dumbass” laughing aloud sat in the café “oh shit” I am so out of it right now “you know what I mean, I am happy for you. We turning up for mini Brown tonight yeah?” nodding my head smiling “the shit is hard in Amsterdam” Blake passed me the joint back “I don’t need anymore” putting my hand up “the first thing in being a bodyguard is, don’t smoke with the person you’re supposed to be taking care of” I pointed out giggling to myself “listen I could move here, shit here is so beautiful” Aaron nudged me “my mom said she is happy for you” nodding my head “your mom wants to speak to you, she been calling you” smiling at Aaron “I know, it’s called ignoring her. I ain’t finna talk to snake asses” the café owner walked over to us “everything good Chris Brown” getting up from my seat, reaching over the table “my man, you do good. You got us gone” shaking his hand “good, anything for you” sitting back down, Aaron held the phone out to me to take.

Licking my lips shaking my head “Christopher” I said down the phone “this hurts me to find out on social media, Rylee is pregnant. She walked in my home saying nothing” she is speaking to me when I am in the wrong frame of mind “because this baby ain’t got shit to do with you, it’s fine. We got nana and grandad, my child doesn’t need you” I need that joint again, taking it from Blake “That is so not fair Chris, I have done nothing but stand by you. I was there for your breakdowns, I was there when you found out you was bipolar. Your disrespectful behaviour, treating me like dirt. You told me you wanted nothing to do with Royalty! And you know you said that” blowing the smoke out “are you done throwing shit in my face? I am glad you know that you will be a grandma again through Instagram, congratulations mom but you turned your back on me when you agreed to Nia taking my daughter away from me. I straight up won’t pay for her” she think I will pay but I won’t “that is why I am paying! I am paying for your child! For her ballet class” I snorted laughing “you telling me that whore ain’t got money, good. Pay for the time you see her because I bet my life on it, you ain’t seeing Royalty or my baby. I am done with you, got it? Don’t call me on my phone ever, I am dead to you. I cried when you did what you did to me! My own mother, thanks mom for taking my daughter from me. You know what Fuck all y’all, tell Tootie I don’t care! I don’t need y’all” disconnecting the call “speak and I will fuck all ya’ll up” throwing the phone to Aaron.

I love my mom, I do but she played me so much. She played me, she never supported me with Royalty. She wanted me away from her, never trusted me like Rylee does. No matter what state of mind I am in Rylee is always there “the weed that strong?” Keeis said “fuck y’all” getting up from the seat, pushing the table out of the way “pay my shit” digging into my pocket and picking out some euros, turning around and Blake is right behind me “here, pay those niggas shit” I have no idea how much I gave him but I want to get out before I punch a nigga in the face, I respected my mom so much but she really tried me with everything. I can’t believe she really sat in the home with Nia, the home I fucking pay for her and it kills me inside. I want to flip out but I have to be calm, I fucking hate the thought of my daughter with some random nigga “bitches, fucking bitches” one of my bodyguards grabbed my arm “this way” he motioned me into the car.

Seeing my phone ringing in my hand, my mom again “Joyce!” I spat down the phone “do not speak down to me Chris! Respect me!” she shouted “I am hurting here Chris, I cannot believe you are having a baby and you didn’t tell me at all? We was once close” I am bored of hearing her “you wanted to see me fail like the rest, I remember you even said to Rylee wait till you see the real Chris. She seen the real me and yet so stays by me but you, I ain’t done nothing but love you and look after you. Nia got you all brainwashed, you believe her over me but now I want to step up you don’t like it” my mom chuckled “you cannot just come in and out of that little girls life, it was wrong. You making out to be a changed man. You was not capable of loving Royalty and you know it” clenching my jaw “it was people like you that made me think I was never loveable it is fine mom, thank you. You may receive an invitation but that will be because Rylee asked me too, no woman comes above my girl not even you. I was never blind to it, I always knew but I didn’t care. You will find out the truth like the world, see you around” disconnecting the call and dropping the phone onto my lap, looking out of the car window feeling sad as shit right now.

I am so angry still, I am sick of my own family thinking they can just tell me what to do with shit but they can’t anymore, I am done with all of that. Scratching my head, I really don’t think I needed the weed “Chris, you need to perform tonight so can you just rest and get the weed out of your system” my manager said, pointing at him pulling a face “this guy doesn’t know a damn thing” I said to Blake “you seem hostile bruh, if I want I can cancel my performance. I could have stayed at home” Keeis threw a pillow at my manager “right, this is not funny guys. This is business and you need to fix yourself up Chris!” sitting back on the bed laughing “man, you are annoying my life. Shut the fuck up! You’re worse than my mom and I hate that woman” I spat, Robb glared at me “Chris, calm down. Auntie ain’t that bad” kissing my teeth “who you talking too, I pay for all you bum ass niggas. Fuck you” I pointed getting up from the bed “can we just calm down here” Blake rubbed his cheek “don’t talk down to your moms Chris” stepping onto the bed going over to Robb “come on then! I can say what the fuck I want” Blake stood up “come on now” Keeis pushed Robb back “suck my dick bitch boy, I fucking own all of you niggas” I am done with people talking down to me.

Banging the back of my head against the wall behind me “you really angry about some shit, I thought weed would calm you?” I only have Blake left with me now “my mind works different, I ain’t supposed to have weed. It feeds into my ego but I have it still, the weed here is so good and I am like superman. I am just fucked in my mind” touching my head “your phone is ringing” Blake pointed out “it’s bitch” picking the phone up from the side of me “I named Royalty mom bitch” Blake chuckled “be calm though” he said before I answered “what?” I ain’t got shit to say “I will drop Royalty off with Rylee” Nia said “no you won’t, you leave her alone. You need to speak to my lawyer and you know this, you going to get what is coming to you” she knows it “is this what happens when Rylee doesn’t babysit you Chris? You’re an actual mess of a man, when Rylee ain’t breastfeeding you then you’re out there being the biggest bastard, angel Chris? I think the fuck not, you think the judge will let a crazy man like you have her, try it” I need to be calm “and you think he will let a drug dealer have her either? I think we in the same boat, I got you Nia. Watch yourself” disconnecting the call, I have nothing else to say.

Getting up off the bed “let me go to the arena” I am hurt, this hurt is turning me into an angry man “yeah Chris is here” turning to Blake “no, he’s fine” I wonder who that is “aight cool, I will” Blake looked up at me “Rylee” why couldn’t she call my phone, taking Blake’ phone “hello” I said pressing the phone to my ear “baby” my smile grew, I am so happy to hear her voice “I miss you” I said, I can’t stop smiling walking off to the living area “I miss you too, we haven’t been away for that long have we?” her voice alone soothes me “no not really” sitting down on the couch “why did you call Blake’ phone?” that was random as fuck from her “your phone was engaged” rolling my eyes “uh right, just some bitch on the phone” I said and Rylee groaned out “what is wrong!?” I spat “no, nothing is wrong. Just that I had a phone call from your mom crying to me” moving the phone from my ear, I hate my mom so much. Placing the phone onto my ear “so? It’s not true” I said before she said anything “I am not taking sides, you being good there? Even your sister called me after, they are acting like you are losing your mind and want me to take you to rehab, now do not go calling anyone” shaking my head in disbelief “she is calling me Rylee! They making you look at me like I am the bad guy! She called me and talked shit to me, ok I had some weed and it was strong and I am on a high. They are fucking trying to get at you” how they go snitching to my fiancé like I am a child “Chris please stop, I am just telling you. I haven’t called to tell you off at all. Just calm the hell down” I honestly want to cuss my mom out now, the stupid woman.

Breathing out heavily “what did she say to you” I said in a whisper “you swore at her, you said she is dead to you. She will never see our child, you want to take the money off her and the house. She said if he can’t respect his own mom then who am I” shaking my head “I never said that, I said I paid for that house and she don’t let me see my child, I didn’t say anything. Rylee you know I respect you, she is putting shit in your mind” Rylee is seeing me as this bad guy because of them “your sister said I won’t know the real Chris, I said I did see the real Chris. Look Chris I am not calling you to tell you off, I am calling to tell you to not answer their calls. Please stop speaking to them until everything dies down for now, stop swearing at your mom please. I don’t like to hear that shit at all and if you didn’t then don’t think about doing it. Your mom is many of things but just don’t, for me. We don’t need the bad vibes from anyone, we just need to move in silence about things. Stop with the weed, stop upsetting your manager and why are people coming to me” rubbing my head in annoyance “Nia said you babysit me and I don’t know how to act when you’re not close, they think you are my babysitter” I mumbled.

I am so done with this shit, I can’t breathe and then people snitch on me like that “they want you away from me, they are telling you this so you hate me. I know it, I know them. I didn’t do anything so what if I get high? It’s harmless, I am having fun and I will beat my manager’s ass, the fuck he texting you for. I can’t take a shit and then people will tell you, so what I got from this is. Chris Brown got high which I do regularly and people go ape shit thinking I need rehab, unfit father now. Yeah whatever” I am annoyed with Rylee too now “you drink lean too, don’t lie to me. I am not even arguing with you about this, you’re just upset and I know why. Just please do not speak to these people, I am sorry and I love you so much. Believe me when I say I do not care what they say, I love you for you. I didn’t agree when your mom said rehab” my mom telling Rylee shit like that for “rehab, really? I am so angry right now!” I spat “ignore them, Chris baby. I love you, listen to me when I say this. Me and our baby love you” my heart hurts.

[dippedanddripped]

For the past year, there have been two sides to Nike: the brand it advertises and the company culture behind it. The brand has identified women as one of "four epic growth opportunities" and lauded its progress in the market. At the same time, shadows have persistently broken through the retailer's sunny picture, in the form of gender inequality assertions.

The company has faced public scrutiny related to how it treats women. A class action lawsuit alleging that Nike does not give women equal pay or advancement opportunities was filed last August, and earlier this year, a former Nike-sponsored athlete, Alysia Montaño, wrote an opinion in the New York Times that asserted Nike was deficient in its support for pregnant athletes.

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While both of these events took place within the past two years, the company has not suffered any financial penalty in the women's space. CEO Mark Parker said at the end of fiscal 2019 that the business had grown in double digits.

"It's hard to overstate how important this year has been to the evolution of the women's offense at Nike," Parker said in a conference call with analysts at the time.

Nike Global Corporate Communications Director Sandra Carreon-John added in an email to Retail Dive that the brand has been "championing female athletes for more than 40 years, and we continue to see incredible momentum for women in sport as athletes — elite and everyday. We are more committed than ever to leverage our brand as a catalyst, celebrating athletes, supporting sports and building the best products for her."

In the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the number of female Nike employees signed on to a class action suit continued to grow.

Strength in numbers

Kelly Cahill and Sara Johnston last August filed a class action lawsuit against Nike alleging sex discrimination. In court documents, they detailed problematic incidents between male and female co-workers, and called out an alleged boys club culture that led, they said, to the promotion of male employees despite numerous complaints to Nike's human resources department.

Carreon-John said Nike is not commenting on pending litigation, but added that the company "opposes discrimination of any type and has a long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion. We are committed to competitive pay and benefits for our employees. The vast majority of Nike employees live by our values of dignity and respect for others."

"We are committed to competitive pay and benefits for our employees. The vast majority of Nike employees live by our values of dignity and respect for others."

Sandra Carreon-John

Nike Global Corporate Communications Director

In court documents Cahill and Johnston alleged women had been called names and faced the use of slurs and demeaning language while the men around them were promoted. The claims marked the peak of a brand crisis that started when some of Nike's female employees surveyed other women at the company about their experiences and left the results on Parker's desk.

In May 2018, Parker issued a mass apology to employees at the company for the toxic culture, after a slew of executives left beginning in March. The brand promoted two female executives shortly after those departures and raised salaries for 10% of employees in July. That was followed by the lawsuit in August.

A year later, that same lawsuit is rolling on, with a growing number of plaintiffs, who each have their own stories of pay and advancement inequality to tell.

Nike employee Heather Hender said she was paid less than a male employee in a similar role, who was given a higher title than her despite doing similar work. Donna Olson, a security manager at Nike, said she was denied promotion to a director position that was then given to her replacement after she retired.

Some stories are more telling than others.

"After I received the pay raise, I mentioned it to a manager and her response implied that at least one male counterpart on my team, who performed substantially similar work, had been paid more than me for 'awhile now.'"

Cindy Lea Linebaugh, according to court documents

Cindy Lea Linebaugh, for example, said in court documents that she received an off-cycle pay raise of 9% two months after the original lawsuit was filed, despite no real change in responsibilities.

"After I received the pay raise, I mentioned it to a manager and her response implied that at least one male counterpart on my team, who performed substantially similar work, had been paid more than me for 'awhile now,'" the document reads.

Another employee, Meghan Grieve, signed on to the lawsuit and detailed how she found out a male colleague had a starting salary $12,000 higher than hers, which Nike refused to match. After she joined the lawsuit, however, the company granted her the raise. She subsequently opted out of the class-action suit.

Other women that signed on to the action corroborated claims made in the lawsuit about employees and said women were put on corrective action plans for unfounded reasons. Former employee Paige Azavedo claimed her manager did not support her and that she witnessed him berate other women.

"While at Nike, I experienced a good old boy culture, where men gave the most desirable work to other men, and mostly spent time with other men, excluding women coworkers," the document reads. "Finally, I saw other women on my team being targeted by their male supervisors. Other women on my team were placed on corrective action plans due to supposed 'behavioral issues,' which were not reported or documented."

A different brand story

In the midst of these complaints, the company continues to depict Nike as a brand that supports women and to feature strong female athletes in marketing campaigns.

In the company's Dream Crazier ad, Nike takes an inspirational tone by calling out hurdles that women face in a professional sports environment, while featuring a host of accomplished female athletes and footage of iconic sports moments.

"If we show emotion, we're called dramatic," tennis star Serena Williams says in the narration. "If we want to play against men, we're nuts. And if we dream of equal opportunity, delusional."

The ad details previous "crazy" moments women have overcome — a woman running a marathon for the first time, dunking for the first time, boxing — and it ends with a call to action spoken by one of the most famous athletes of her day: "So if they want to call you crazy, fine. Show them what crazy can do."

The Dream Crazy campaign has been well received in the marketing space. The original campaign, which launched with Colin Kaepernick in September, won the Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes this year.

Nike is the number one women's activewear brand, according to data from the NPD Group. The brand has done a great deal to serve the women's market by partnering with strong brand ambassadors, putting out compelling brand campaigns, and creating product where others have failed to provide it. The retailer invested more time and energy into the sneaker business for women in 2018, an acknowledgment that the space wasn't paying enough attention to women.

Nike has also created products for underserved audiences through inclusive sizing efforts and, for example, Muslim female athletes, with the debut of the Pro Hijab. The company also points to its efforts to support professional women's athletics leagues, including the National Women's Soccer League and the Women's National Basketball Association, and its efforts to improve fit on women's clothing. The U.S. Women's National Team home jersey was the best selling soccer jersey, men's or women's, on the company's website in one season.

But it's exactly that contrast that the class action suit is trying to combat, plaintiffs' attorney Laura Salerno Owens of Markowitz Herbold told Retail Dive.

"The way Nike marginalizes women at its headquarters is completely contrary to how it portrays itself to its customers as valuing women in sports and the importance of providing equal opportunity to play," she wrote in a statement to Retail Dive. "To echo Nike's recent ad campaign, we don't believe it's 'crazy' for women to dream of equal pay for equal work."

"There's the exterior-facing part of Nike and then there's what really happens behind closed doors and that's really what we're seeking to change."

Anna Joyce

Partner with Markowitz Herbold

Anna Joyce, a partner with Markowitz Herbold who helped draft the complaint, echoed those sentiments in speaking with Retail Dive last year, specifically around the brand's powerful lineup of brand ambassadors.

"She is a phenomenally strong woman," Joyce said of Williams and her partnership with Nike. "So I think there's the exterior-facing part of Nike and then there's what really happens behind closed doors and that's really what we're seeking to change."

For her part, Montaño is trying to change how Nike behaves toward the women it works with. Her complaints about the treatment of pregnant athletes were followed by an announcement from Nike that it was changing its policies. In a statement on its website, Nike said that the company standardized its approach to "support our female athletes during pregnancy," but acknowledged that "we can go even further." Nike said in its statement that contracts for female athletes will now have written terms in them relating to the company's policy around pregnancy.

"We want to make it clear today that we support women as they decide how to be both great mothers and great athletes," the statement reads. "We recognize we can do more and that there is an important opportunity for the sports industry to evolve to support female athletes."

Carreon-John added that, "in addition to our 2018 policy standardizing our approach across all sports to ensure no female athlete is adversely impacted financially for pregnancy, the policy has now been expanded to cover 18 months."

Why is Nike in the clear?

So how has Nike made it through missteps that might have shattered a smaller company? According to Susan Anderson, managing director and senior equity research analyst at B. Riley FBR, part of it is how the company handled issues like the class action lawsuit.

"That was such a huge scandal … But they did a pretty good job, kind of, fixing it, or at least making it look like they were improving things," she said of the class action.

Consumers were also watching, but the amount that they care about such things, especially once they've faded out of the daily news cycle, is less certain. Anderson noted that if consumers really like a retailer's product, they're unlikely to change brands, "unless the company hasn't moved in the right direction."

"Are they really going to change their purchase habits? A lot of companies are probably guilty of all those things, right?" she said.

Acting as a buffer of sorts to Nike has been the fact that so many other companies are also facing corporate culture scandals, with varied levels of significance. In June 2018, Guess Executive Chairman Paul Marciano resigned following an investigation into his conduct, though he later was appointed the brand's chief creative officer. In February, REI CEO Jerry Stritzke stepped down from his position following reports he had an undisclosed relationship with an executive of another company the retailer had some dealings with.

"I think the consumer really understands that these issues are really just the face of every company out there. I think what they're looking for is: What action is being taken?"

Matt Powell

Vice President and Senior Industry Adviser of Sports for The NPD Group

But athletics retail has been the most notorious in the past few years for churning out brand scandals. In February 2018, Lululemon CEO Laurent Potdevin resigned following conduct issues, while in December the same year, Under Armour fired two executives after an internal review of spending. Chief among the problems was a culture that allowed executives to charge gambling and adult entertainment to corporate cards.

What may in isolation have been considered damaging issues limited to a single brand, viewed together raise questions about systemic corporate culture issues in the industry.

"I think the consumer really understands that these issues are really just the face of every company out there. I think what they're looking for is: What action is being taken? Are inequities being resolved as quickly as possible? That may be the most important thing is for brands to just make sure that when things are surfaced that they're fixing them as quickly as they can," Matt Powell, vice president and senior industry adviser of sports for The NPD Group, said in an interview. In that sense, Powell argued, it doesn't necessarily matter which brand is under fire as long as they're handling it correctly.

It's hard to ignore that Nike is, well, Nike.

A few challenges to Nike's reputation aren't likely to knock it out of its top position, especially if the company keeps delivering high quality products that hit on the trends consumers want. Brands with less cache, or a more inconsistent performance, could be more likely to suffer.

Still, the women's business at Nike is dwarfed by the size of the men's. In fiscal 2019, women's made up $7.4 billion of the retailer's wholesale business revenues, compared to the $17.7 billion it racked up from men's sales. Nike Kids was only $2 billion smaller than the women's segment over the same time frame.

There's a lot of space for female-focused athletic brands to swoop in. To some extent, they already have. According to NPD's Powell, Lululemon grew faster than Nike in the U.S. last year and will surpass Nike as the top women's brand if the current trajectory holds.

In other words, the biggest threat to Nike's dominance might be how fast Lululemon grows its business, not how Nike deals with its brand image.