P.M. BRIEFING : Nike Boycott Wins Little Support

CHICAGO —  Fewer than one-third of Chicagoans who have an opinion back Operation PUSH’s boycott of Oregon sneaker-maker Nike Inc., a Gallup Poll showed today.

The poll found a majority of blacks ignoring the PUSH boycott, with 34% of those queried saying they had no opinion.

Of those who had an opinion on the situation, 45% said they supported Nike, 13% said they supported PUSH and 5% said they supported both sides.

Last month, PUSH called for a boycott of Nike products, accusing the Beaverton, Ore., company of not doing enough for the black community.

Nike responded by saying it has an adequate minority hiring program and it wanted to know more about PUSH’s relationship with competitor Reebok.