![]() Nike is the official sponsor of the NFL, so this ad campaign is a thumb in the eye of every owner who has colluded against him. It is satisfying that after two years in the political wilderness, he is getting an outpouring of support from those defending an ad with a message that reinforces the power of political sacrifice. It is a great thing that he is actually going to earn an income and receive funding for his activist works. He has been unable to earn a living during the prime years of his career. In the last year, he has given away over a million dollars of his own money. Kaepernick has spent the past two years being showered with hatred and death threats, vilified on social media and from the presidential bully pulpit. Asking them to be a voice for social justice is like asking a dog to meow.Īll of that being said, this is a case more complicated than just calling out Nike for commodifying dissent. ![]() In Nike’s antiseptic, hollow corporate-speak, Kaepernick is simply “moving the world forward.” There is no mention here of police violence or racism. As Gino Fisanotti, Nike’s vice president of brand for North America, told ESPN, “We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward.” The idea that Nike executives would position themselves as messengers of Kaepernick’s righteous years-long struggle is, to put it mildly, galling. When it comes to marketing, for three decades-from Spike Lee’s famous Air Jordan ads and John McEnroe’s “Rebel With a Cause” campaign to its current campaigns featuring LeBron James and Serena Williams-Nike has used the image of rebellion to sell its gear, while stripping that rebellion of all its content. The opening line of a New York Times exposé was “For too many women, life inside Nike had turned toxic.” Then there is Nike co-founder and chairman emeritus Phil Knight, who gave $500,000 in 2017 to Oregon Republican gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler. ![]() Earlier this year, the company was accused of fostering a sexist work environment with chronic harassment. Nike has for decades been a target of protests by student activists, with organizations like United Students Against Sweatshops on the front lines, for notoriously poor labor practices. ![]() This is a head-spinning set of circumstances. Scenes of people burning their sneakers or cutting the swooshes off of their clothes also went viral. But Yahoo’s Charles Robinson posted that Adidas and Puma were also down more than two percent, and that the dip was related to NAFTA.On the right, there were calls for demonstrations against the sneaker company. There was some suggestion that Nike’s more than 2 percent dip in the stock maret was due to the Kaepernick endorsement. While the move by Nike may have come as a surprise to some, Yahoo Sports reported that Adidas and Puma were among multiple brands that had conversations about potentially building around Kaepernick if Nike failed to renew his deal. He also called Kaepernick a damn good quarterback in an interview on WEEI. Last season he told CBS that he hoped the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback got another shot. It’s not the first time Brady has voiced support for Kaepernick. While he did not post the image himself, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady “liked’’ the image when it was posted by others on Instagram. He did so not to disrespect our flag but to give meaning to the words of the preamble of our Constitution-“in order to form a more perfect union.” Well done, Colin, well done. ![]() Brennan threw his support behind the campaign.Ĭolin Kaepernick drew our collective attention to the problem of continued racial injustice in America. #justdoit /GAZtkAIwbkįormer CIA director John O. While she did not mention Kaepernick, tennis great Serena Williams tweeted out her support for Nike, with whom she has also participated in the “Just Do It’’ campaign.Įspecially proud to be a part of the Nike family today. ![]()
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