Misty Copeland & The Rock Blast Under Armour Founder Kevin Plank For Trump Support

Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank supports Donald Trump, and this is causing problems for the company with its celebrity spokespeople.

Plank was among a select group of American CEOs that had breakfast with President Trump on his first Monday in office, Jan. 23. And in an interview this week with CNBC, Plank described Trump and his pro-business agenda as an asset: “To have such a pro-business president is something that’s a real asset for this country… There’s a lot that I respect there.”

Under Armour’s athlete endorsers are a key element of its brand, but some of them have come out against Plank’s comments. NBA star Steph Curry, for example, said: “I agree with [Plank’s] description, if you remove the -et.” (You can deduce what “asset” is without the -et.)

Professional ballet dancer Misty Copeland posted a long statement on Instagram saying in part, “I strongly disagree with Kevin Plank’s recent comments in support of Trump… I have spoken at length with Kevin privately about the matter, but as someone who takes my responsibility as a role model very seriously, it is important to me that he, and UA, take public action to clearly communicate and reflect our common values.”

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who has an endorsement deal with Under Armour, also took to his Instagram account, where he has 76 million followers. He began by saying that Plank’s words “are neither my words, nor my beliefs.”

Johnson, however, said he is not ditching Under Armour. “I feel an obligation to stand with this diverse team, the American and global workers, who are the beating heart and soul of Under Armour and the reason I chose to partner with them,” he said/ Curry and Copeland did not make any such affirmation, but also did not yet suggest they will cut ties with the company.