P.F. Chang’s is joining with Jeremy Lin and Kickstradomis to turn a negative into a positive. Nearly one year ago while playing in a high school basketball game, multi-racial players Nathan Stockman and his teammate, Bobby, a young man who is now a Division 1 student athlete, were taunted with vile racist chants by students from the opposing school. Bobby, who is African-American, was berated with jabs about being illiterate, on welfare, or on drugs. Nathan, who is Asian-American, was subject to chants about opening his eyes and going back to China. He was also called P.F. Chang’s. While most would react with justifiable anger, Nathan and Bobby chose a different route. They saw the value of rising above their bullies’ horrific words and instead decided to turn them into something empowering.
“When Nathan’s mom called to let us know that her son was planning to decorate this season’s basketball shoes with P.F. Chang’s logo as a sign of strength against his harassers, we couldn’t sit on the sidelines,” said P.F. Chang’s CEO, Jim Bell. “We’re a restaurant that does not stand for racism or bullying in any form, and we find Nathan and Bobby’s display of courage and confidence inspiring. In fact, we consider them to be an embodiment of many of our core values, and we think these exceptional young men deserve to be celebrated.”
P.F. Chang’s reached out to Jeremy Lin, whose foundation focuses on anti-bullying, and who has also suffered racist bullying throughout his athletic career. Within hours, Lin responded and agreed to help – he also worked with his corporate partner, adidas, to support the cause by donating sneakers to Nathan and Bobby.
Read more at PR NewsWire: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pf-changs-partnering-with-jeremy-lin–sneaker-artist-kickstradomis-to-fight-bullying–racism-on-the-basketball-court-300776716.html
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