Earlier this week, adidas came under a ton of fire for releasing a pair of adidas JS Roundhouse Mid sneakers that featured “handcuffs”—or “shackles” as some people out there called them—on them. As a result of all of that criticism, they were forced to shelve the sneakers and give up on the idea of creating a pair of sneakers that featured handcuffs on them. In the same week, Nike is receiving a ton of praise for going in a complete opposite direction and creating a new campaign called “Be True.” And, rightfully so. They deserve a lot of praise for it.

So, what exactly is “Be True”? Well, it’s an initiative that Nike just rolled out in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The Swoosh is looking to celebrate the leaders within that community by creating special sneakers and T-shirts that pay homage to them during Gay Pride Month.

“BE TRUE 2012 celebrates the achievements of the New York City, San Francisco, and Portland communities as progressive leaders of LGBT life with city-specific footwear releases and accompanying hat and tee,” Nike’s website says.

And, with that being said, we’ve gotta join in on singing the praises of Nike for this campaign. While adidas is making headlines for all the wrong reasons, Nike is taking a stand for something—which, truth be told, is something that they haven’t always been known to do—and honoring a large community of people that often gets overlooked by big corporations. Will there be some people out there who criticize them for doing it? Of course. But, there will also be lots and lots of other people who change their entire perception of Nike because of “Be True.” And, as we said earlier, rightfully so. Nike deserves a high-five for doing this.

Check out a couple of the kicks that Nike has created for the “Be True” campaign below:

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