It's official: Nike head Philip H. Knight has backed away from a $30 million pledge to his alma mater, the University of Oregon, after the school joined a coalition fighting exploitive sweatshop conditions around the world.

The controversy began this past week after UO officials signed an agreement with the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), an activist group protesting sweatshop conditions at factories worldwide. At the time, school leaders said the move was to make sure any products made or licensed for UO met worker's rights and wage standards.

In his statement, Knight said his company has affiliated itself with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) -- supported by President Clinton and the U.S. Department of Labor -- and claims the WRC promotes an "unrealistic living wage provision. And its 'gotcha' approach to monitoring doesn't do what good monitoring should – measure conditions and make improvements."

Even as he called on the university to adopt the WRC's living-wage standards for itself, Knight stated he would give no more money to his alma mater, where he ran track and launched a shoe business out of the trunk of his car.

The news release can be found at:
http://www.nikebiz.com/media/n_uofo.shtml