Reebok Company

They came from four different continents, but when the young human rights activists stood before students at Carson High School, they carried a common message: Regardless of social background and ethnicity, any determined individual can make a difference. "The main enemy of justice is silence," Carlos Rojas, 29, a Mixe Indian from Mexico, told students gathered this month in Carson's auditorium. "We must all learn to speak out and make our voices heard."

German sporting goods company Adidas-Salomon is close to a deal to buy its U.S. rival Reebok International Ltd. in a deal worth more than $3 billion, according to newspaper reports today. The two companies have held discussions but no agreement has been reached, Britain's Financial Times said, citing people familiar with the matter. Another report on the Wall Street Journal website cited an unnamed person familiar with the situation as saying Adidas was near a deal to buy Reebok.

Adidas-Salomon's proposed $3.8-billion purchase of Reebok International Ltd. could dramatically reshape the global athletic shoe and apparel industry, creating a more formidable competitor to industry giant Nike Inc. and putting more pressure on a host of much smaller manufacturers. The proposed combination, which the companies announced early Wednesday, would allow Adidas and Reebok to build on their respective strengths, industry analysts said.

Paul Fireman's two-decade career with Reebok International Ltd., which agreed this month to be acquired by Adidas-Salomon for $3.8 billion began at an industry trade show in Chicago 26 years ago. Fireman spotted an impressive display of running shoes by Reebok, an obscure British brand bearing the name of an African gazelle. Fireman, then 35 and coming off some setbacks in the sporting goods business, bought U.S. distribution rights to the shoes for $65,000.

Win or lose, Venus Williams looks pretty darn good. Runway tall and with high cheekbones and a head full of beaded braids, the Los Angeles 15-year-old isn't the youngest tennis player ever to ink a major clothing deal--Jennifer Capriati did it at 13--but she is arguably the most interesting to watch. Reebok had its eye on Williams for years before finally signing her last spring to endorse a line of tennis apparel targeted for girls 12 to 18. It's due out next spring.

Is the "Ad Agency of the Decade" flinching? Is it in trouble? Or is it just being its ornery self? Chiat/Day, the Venice ad firm Advertising Age called the "Agency of the Decade" three years ago, ran national newspaper ads Monday that tried to put the best light on some very bad news: It was fired last week by client Reebok for the second time in five years. The headline to its unusual newspaper ad said, "Now we know how Dan felt."