Race organizer who funds racist, homophobic politicians is partnered with Black fitness group, Zappos and other top brands

Promotion of Black Girls RUN! partnership on Capstone website

John Kane, founder and chairman of road race organizer Capstone Events, is a financial backer of some of Congress’ most extreme politicians, including U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz. Despite this political activity, Black Girls RUN! is partnered with Capstone for Race 13.1 in Charlotte and the company gets financial backing from Zappos, a title sponsor of two events including the upcoming Hamptons Marathon, along with Fleet Feet, Michelob Ultra, United Airlines, Publix and others.

KnowTheCEO first reported on Kane in May, prior to the Capstone-owned Bay to Breakers race. Our report led one sponsor to drop out and was widely covered in San Francisco, including by SFist, which said,

“Kane’s donations to other racist, homophobic, January 6th-denying pricks like [U.S. Sen. Josh] Hawley and [U.S. Rep. Jim] Jordan should give everyone who's paying to run in Bay to Breakers pause. Also, it should give sponsors like Zappos and United pause. As @KnowtheCEO noted on Twitter, Zappos claims to be ‘dedicated to supporting and uplifting LGBTQIA+’ people, but Greene, for one, is one of the most virulently homophobic political figures out there.”

The controversy had no effect on Zappos – Bay to Breakers’ title sponsor – which has said nothing about Capstone’s right-wing affiliations or its relationship with the company. But with Zappos again appearing as the title sponsor of a Capstone-owned race – the Hamptons Marathon on September 17th – we know that Zappos remains committed to the relationship.

At this point, Zappos is fully aware that it is financially backing a company whose leader is backing racist, homophobic and divisive politicians, in direct contradiction to its public claim that it is “dedicated to supporting and uplifting LGBTQIA+ and Black voices…” Zappos has simply decided that its business interests take priority over the pledges it has made to support diversity, inclusion, and LGBTQ rights.

Because of the attention received during Bay to Breakers, Kane’s politics are also likely known to other Capstone sponsors. Michelob Ultra (a sponsor of six races), Fleet Feet (four races), Publix (four races), United Airlines, Subway and Ketel One are major organizations that carefully examine their marketing efforts and pay attention to related media coverage. Like Zappos, none of these sponsors have expressed concern over Kane’s right-wing politics.

The same may not be true of Black Girls RUN! It seems likely that the group, which promotes fitness among African American women, is unaware that it has teamed up with a company owned by a financer of extremist politics. According to the Black Girls RUN! website, the Race 13.1 partnership began more than five years ago, but the race didn’t take place in 2020 and 2021 – and, according to Federal Election Commission Records, Kane only began giving to federal candidates in 2020.

But, in the last two-plus years, Kane has given to politicians considered to be among the most racist in Congress.

Some of Kane’s political contributions as reported by the FEC

Most notable is his support for Greene, who has gained a national profile largely based on her racist and homophobic views. Earlier this year she spoke at a white nationalist conference, prompting condemnation by her own party. In 2021, she introduced legislation to give the Congressional Gold Medal to Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed three men during protests over the police killing of a Black man, and in 2020, Politico reported on hours videos in which she “expresses racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic views.”

Gaetz has been outspoken in his opposition to Black Lives Matter, which he called “cultural genocide,” and his rhetoric often echoes the racist replacement theory. In introducing a June, 2020 podcast, Gaetz said BLM’s goal is “to totally overturn our country, to make us hate our country and replace it with something else…”

Hawley called affirmative action a “perverted racial spoils system” and this year introduced legislation that would “block federal funds to schools that teach issues such as white supremacy and racism, including Critical Race Theory.” Other Kane benefactors include U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, who displayed the Confederate battle flag outside of his home, and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, who has attacked the teaching of Critical Race Theory in schools.

While Black Girls RUN! may be unaware of the controversy, their work with Capstone supports Kane’s financial interests. The group is not only a partner in Race 13.1, but it is holding its 2022 Sweat With Your Sole national conference in conjunction with the race. Doing so boosts Kane’s revenues by bringing attendees from around the country to Charlotte and encouraging them to participate in the conference’s “official race event.”