Despite the novelty of this First Amendment debate and the potentially wide-reaching effects for big business (particularly MNCs), the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case (6 to 3) in June 2003 as...

Despite the novelty of this First Amendment debate and the potentially wide-reaching effects for big business (particularly MNCs), the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case (6 to 3) in June 2003 as “improvidently granted” due to procedural issues surrounding the case. In their dissenting opinion, Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Sandra Day O’Connor suggested that Nike would likely win the appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court level. In both the concurring and dissenting opinions, Nike’s statements were described as a mix of “commercial” and “noncommercial” speech. 4 This suggested to Nike, as well as other MNCs, that if the Court were to have ruled on the substantive issue, Nike would have prevailed. Although this case has set no nationwide precedent for corporate advertising about business practices or corporate social responsibility (CSR) in general, given the sensitivity of the issue, Nike has allowed its actions to speak louder than words in recent years. As part of its international CSR profile, Nike has assisted relief efforts (donating $1 million to tsunami relief in 2004) and advocated fair wages and employment practices in its outsourced operations. Nike claims that it has not abandoned production in certain countries in favor of lower-wage labor in others and that its factory wages abroad are actually in accordance with local regulations, once one accounts for purchasing power and cost-of-living differences. 5 The Nike Foundation, a nonprofit organization supported by Nike, is also an active supporter of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly those directed at improving the lives of adolescent girls in developing countries (specifically Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, and Zambia) through better health, education, and economic opportunities.