“We take the allegations extremely seriously and will launch an immediate investigation to hear from former Oregon Project athletes,” the company said in an emailed statement.
“At Nike we seek to always put the athlete at the center of everything we do, and these allegations are completely inconsistent with our values.”
Cain said in a New York Times editorial that she was under constant pressure to lose weight while she was an Oregon Project athlete.
At 17, she was a record-breaking runner, but the drive to get “thinner, and thinner, and thinner” led her to lose her period, break five bones and consider ending her life, she said.
The company ended the Oregon Project last month after top coach, Alberto Salazar, was banned from the sport for four years for violating anti-doping rules.
Nike said Thursday that it hadn’t heard the complaints from Cain before.
“These are deeply troubling allegations which have not been raised by Mary or her parents before,” Nike said.
“Mary was seeking to rejoin the Oregon Project and Alberto’s team as recently as April of this year, and had not raised these concerns as part of that process.”
Cain’s representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nike has made female empowerment a central part of its marketing, and Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker has been outspoken about the company’s opportunity to sell more shoes and apparel to women.
‘Physically abused’
Cain’s allegations were included in a video and editorial published on the Times site. Nike needs to change, and there needs to be more women in coaching and leadership roles, she said.
“I was emotionally and physically abused by a system designed by Alberto and endorsed by Nike,” she said in the video. The coach wanted her to take birth-control pills and diuretics to lose weight, breaking track-and-field rules, she said.
The allegations are just the latest black eye for Nike. Earlier this year, some runners publicly criticised the company for its treatment of pregnant athletes. Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, later changed its policies.
Salazar was given a four-year ban for doping violations. He has denied wrongdoing, and the company has supported him.
Meanwhile, Nike is going through a transition at the top. Parker, 64, said last month that he will resign in January, handing the reins to ex-EBay Inc CEO John Donahoe.
The decision to pick a leader outside Nike’s executive ranks followed a shake-up over misconduct last year.
Trevor Edwards, once seen as a CEO candidate, abruptly stepped down amid a review of sexist behavior at the company.
Other executives were ousted as the world’s largest athletic brand tried to burnish its image.