Under Armour CEO Praises Trump: “To Have Such a Pro-Business President Is Something That Is a Real Asset for the Country."

Last week, Nike CEO Mark Parker wrote a letter to all of the company's employees opposing Donald Trump's Muslim immigration ban. Shortly afterward, Adidas, which employs around 1,500 people on their Portland-based North American headquarters, released a statement opposing Donald Trump's immigration ban.

But not Kevin Plank, CEO of Baltimore-based Under Armour, which currently employs a significant portion of their design force in Portland, and is in the process of a massive expansion to the former Metro Family YMCA building on SW Barbur boulevard.

Yesterday, Plank praised President Trump's business acumen on CNBC's Halftime Report. He stated that:

Plank met with President Trump on January 23 as part of a group of American businesspeople, in which Trump promised to cut regulations on American business by up to 75% and cut taxes. On January 27, the White House announced that Plank would serve on Trump's Manufacturing Jobs Initiative.

Plank's comments drew immediate backlash. Just minutes ago, the Mercury News reported that Under Armour-sponsored Steph Curry responded to Plank's characterization of Trump as an "asset." "I agree with that description," Curry said, "if you remove the 'et.'"

Under Armour released a statement earlier today.

"At Under Armour, our culture has always been about optimism, teamwork, and unity," the statement begins. "We have engaged with both the prior and the current administrations in advocating on business issues that we believe are in the best interests of our consumers, teammates, and shareholders. Kevin Plank was recently invited at the request of the President of the United States, to join the American Manufacturing Council as part of a distinguished group of business leaders. He joined CEOs from companies such as Dow Chemical, Dell, Ford, GE and Tesla, among others to begin an important dialogue around creating jobs in America. We believe it is important for Under Armour to be a part of that discussion."

You can read the full statement here.

This controversy comes at a tough time for Under Armour, who's shares are down 23 percent after they missed their projected fourth quarter sales for 2016. In October 2016, Under Armour slid to the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the United States after Nike and Adidas, after having overtaken Adidas for the second place spot in 2014.