NIKE PLAYS "NICE," YIELDS TO DETRACTORS IN TRUTH TOUR

          After "years of wrangling with protestors," Nike is
     forming "strange friendships with some of its detractors,"
     according to Andy Dworkin of the Portland OREGONIAN, who    
     wrote that the company "played nice" with the Nike Truth
     Tour, in which an "RV load of young protesters demonstrated
     in and around Nike stores nationwide."  Dworkin noted that
     protesters "regularly talked by cell phone" with Nike Dir of
     Issues Management Vada Manager, while Nike security officers
     followed the group "from town to town," greeting them by
     name.  Dworkin added that Nike "even told the protesters how
     many minutes they could chant and hang anti-Nike banners in
     stores before they would be told to leave."  Manager, on
     Nike's strategy with protesters: "The risk for injury or
     other problems is tremendously lessened if you work in that
     way" (Portland OREGONIAN, 8/22).