Goodyear Goes Self-Inflicted "Hindenburg" On Itself

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is seeing firsthand what pushback looks like.

During the past 24 hours, this image was leaked into the Internet:

MAGA hats, Blue Lives Matter (i.e., law enforcement), All Lives Matter and other political slogans and material are "unacceptable", according to their "Diversity Training Slide". But Black Lives Matter (BLM), a Marxist organization is "Acceptable".

This caught the attention of President Trump, who Tweeted:

Social media and other Internet outlets have been in an uproar over Goodyear's stance. They tried to walk this back, but they aren't convincing anyone.

From Goodyear's corporate website:

AKRON, Ohio, August 19, 2020 – A Message from Goodyear to Our Customers, Partners and Associates:   

Yesterday, Goodyear became the focus of a conversation that created some misconceptions about our policies and our company.  For those not aware, a widely circulated image sparked a strong reaction, and we wanted to take the opportunity to provide some important context to the visual and our policies.  

First, the visual in question was not created or distributed by Goodyear corporate, nor was it part of a diversity training class. To be clear on our longstanding corporate policy, Goodyear has zero tolerance for any forms of harassment or discrimination. To enable a work environment free of those, we ask that associates refrain from workplace expressions in support of political campaigning for any candidate or political party, as well as similar forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of racial justice and equity issues. 

Second, we appreciate the diverse viewpoints of all of our more than 60,000 associates, which are at the heart of many of the policies we establish. Fostering an inclusive, respectful workplace is important to establish teamwork and build culture, which is another reason we ask associates not to engage in political campaigning of any kind in the workplace – for any candidate, party or political organization. 

Third and finally, Goodyear has always wholeheartedly supported both equality and law enforcement and will continue to do so. These are not mutually exclusive. We have heard from some of you that believe Goodyear is anti-police after reacting to the visual. Nothing could be further from the truth, and we have the upmost appreciation for the vital work police do on behalf of our shared communities. This can’t be said strongly enough.

It is interesting that they deny creating or distributing the visual, but wrote this piece to "provide some important context" to it. Well, if they didn't create it (I could concede it could have been leaked from an insider), why put any "context" to it? Seems to be a contradiction. Why didn't they just call a press conference and deny that it came from them? Maybe it's because they can't.

A friend, who is (or was) a big Goodyear blimp fan, was not impressed with Goodyear's statement.

He wrote:

The most pathetic and sycophantic case of "CYA" I have ever seen. Corporate cowardice on a grand scale. You have lost me as a customer and lifelong admirer of your company forever.

I have to agree. Corporate cowardice indeed!

UPDATE:

La Corte News reported:

A viral photo of a slide presentation from a recent Goodyear diversity training session shows that the company gives employees the green light to wear attire supportive of causes like the Black Lives Matter movement while explicitly forbidding anything related to MAGA and Blue Lives Matter. 

In response, President Trump tweeted “Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES” and the company took a hit on the stock market. Today, Goodyear stock dropped 2.36%, lowering the valuation of the company by $53.6 million.