In early September 2025, a rumor started online that the company Nike donated face masks to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for free, prompting a call for a boycott against the sports company along with Under Armour, which the user claimed supplied military gear.
The rumor stemmed from a TikTok video (archived) posted Sept. 8 by user @coltonlexus, and also spread on other TikTok accounts (archived), Instagram (archived), X (archived) and Facebook. Several users also deleted highly circulated posts by the time of this writing, and Snopes received multiple messages from readers seeking answers.
In the original video, the user stated:
Hey guys, Colton Lexus here with Internal Services, LLC. So today we have just confirmed that Nike, Incorporated, has been giving out face masks to new hired ICE agents. Ski face masks. The ones that cover their faces. They're being provided by Nike. And I can't even believe this, quite frankly, because I like Nike products. I'm wearing their Nike brand right now. But this? This is unbelievable. They're giving them out for free. Nike is giving out face masks to the Department of Defense for free. You have got to be f****** kidding me. This has been confirmed, repeatedly confirmed. And so here we are now. Now we're gonna have to add them on that list of companies to boycott. Way to go, Nike. Looks like we're not buying any more Apple watches, we're not buying any more shoes from you, we're definitely not buying any more attire or gear from Nike. Be ashamed of yourself. That's seriously fucked up. But wait, there's more. Nike's not the only company. Under Armour, Under Armour. One of the biggest suppliers of military gear. Under Armour and Nike. What in the actual f**, you guys.
The user did not cite any evidence to back his claims but simply stated the claim had been "repeatedly confirmed." The user did not clarify who or what entity confirmed the claim. The user also claimed Nike was giving face masks to the Department of Defense, but ICE is a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, not the Department of Defense.
We reached out to both Nike and ICE and did not immediately hear back from either party. We also contacted the TikTok user seeking evidence to corroborate the claims and had not heard back, as of this writing.
Publicly available Getty images indicate agents have worn various styles and brands of face masks. The evidence suggests agents have not been wearing uniform face masks, nor that they were Nike face masks with the logo removed or covered. Many of the masks in the images varied in style and color.
At least one image indicated an agent was wearing a mask with the Nike logo on it, as seen below, but other officers in his proximity wore other styles of masks, likely making it coincidental.
(Getty Images)
No evidence exists that any major news outlet has reported on anything related to the claim, either. A Google search of the keywords "Nike ICE face masks" primarily produced social media posts related to the rumor, no reputable news source repeated the claim as fact:
(Google.com)
The user had no apparent authority to make the claim; he also posted other unfounded claims on his TikTok page, such as that he had the Epstein files and was "ready to distribute them," referring to the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In sum, the claim that Nike was donating face masks to ICE was entirely unfounded. There was no evidence to corroborate the claim, and the originator of the rumor had no apparent authority that would make the claim legitimate.