OPB’s First Look: Nike on trial

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Good morning, Northwest.

A high-profile sex discrimination trial against Nike continues this week, and there are signs it may end this week too.

OPB business reporter Kyra Buckley starts today’s newsletter with a look at arguments made and witnesses called in the case so far.

In other news, a wrongfully convicted man in Eugene is now walking free.

Here’s your First Look at Monday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

Top story

Nike sex discrimination trial stretches into second week

The federal sex discrimination trial spotlighting Nike’s treatment of women — a case that’s been eight years in the making — will stretch into a second week.

Arguments are expected to wrap up today or tomorrow, and the judge has been adamant the trial will end in the first half of the week.

The jury is weighing whether Nike discriminated against former employee Heather Hender because of her gender. Hender, a former process engineer, claims she was paid less than male colleagues that did similar work and that she was passed over for promotions because she’s a woman.

Nike has continually denied the claims. (Kyra Buckley)

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3 things to know

• The Oregon Department of Forestry announced late Saturday it had deployed its last available complex incident management team, as wildfires are burning more than 200,000 acres across the state. (OPB staff)
• Robert Wallace Lyons, the 61-year-old man wrongfully convicted of murder in Eugene in 1989 by discredited forensic science, walked out of the Lane County Jail last Friday, free for the first time in decades. (Conrad Wilson)
• Oregon City, the first city incorporated west of the Rockies, is set to adopt a new flag inspired by its municipal elevator and Willamette Falls next month, nearly four decades after launching its current flag. (Winston Szeto)

Familia

Last fall and winter, after President Trump claimed Portland was “war ravaged” and threatened to send in the National Guard, immigration detentions in Oregon skyrocketed and became more aggressive. We learn what happened next to two families whose loved ones were among more than a thousand Oregonians caught up in what the government called Operation Black Rose. (Jenn Chávez, Troy Brynelson, Holly Bartholomew and Brooke Herbert)

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Northwest headlines

• Physicians group documents crowd control weapons ‘misuse’ during Portland ICE protests (Conrad Wilson)
• ‘Hot Jimothy summer’: Why a quirky raccoon is taking Seattle and the internet by storm (Cornelius Hocker, KUOW)
• New leader of Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum strives to bridge generations (Freddy Monares, KNKX)
• Washington delegation jets off to UK airshow, hoping new deals will take flight (Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard)
• Eugene rehab center barred from accepting new residents after patient’s death (Nathan Wilk, KLCC)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app.

One more look

‘A joyful occasion’: Portland mass wedding sees dozens marry, exchange vows

Twenty-two couples married or renewed their vows simultaneously in downtown Portland on Saturday, the day before the city’s annual Pride parade.

The colorful ceremony — complete with music and tiny wedding cakes — was a chance not just for couples to celebrate their marriages, but also for the local LGBTQ+ community to honor the new Darcelle XV Plaza.

The plaza was named after legendary drag performer Walter Cole, whose drag name was Darcelle XV. Cole died of natural causes in 2023. (Joni Auden Land)

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